Agent Clover the Hacker
by trumpetgal
Summary: She's the youngest hacker in the world, and Johann Schmidt wants her to use her for his latest plan to rule the world. She's placed under the protection of the Avengers, with Hawkeye taking aim on her heart. Is she the new Avenger? Clint/OC.
1. Target No 1

They told me I was the best, the best of the best when it came to hacking into computers and to get out of sticky situations. My parents wouldn't be too proud of what I do, or how I am doing it. It's not a good job to have since you're the youngest hacker in the field of work and that makes me on the top of the police list. I was working under a government organization named Haven, a French organization that is underground that helps with computer backups and computer merging. So, this makes me life a little bit more interesting.

My name is Emily, but I go by the name of Clover.

I'm only 25 years old and I can hack into any computer and get myself out of any room with any soldier within thirty seconds. I was trained to work computers, to work machines as a puzzle solver. I was born as a genius prodigy according to my parents, being able to get logical puzzles down at the age of 6 that were meant for 12 year olds. I never knew why I was smart, or how it came to be, but I knew that I was never meant for the normal life.

I started at Haven when I was only 15 years old, my parents were thinking of it being a good idea for me to go there instead of being there at home with them. I never had the typical relationship with them, since I wasn't the typical daughter they wanted. When my friends went to prom, I was hacking into systems from Russia and China without permission and getting information that wasn't allowed to the public. When my friends were talking about boyfriends and who they were found over, I was talking to other geniuses like me on the internet and exchanging new hacker data and technology bits. So growing up was never easy for me. I knew my father wanted better for me, wanted to have me be a typical young daughter for him to love and to have, and Lord knows my mother hated it that I never wanted dresses, make up, and other girlish things. I had to put those to rest as I was placed in the Haven organization. They only wanted the best of the best, those who can hack, fight, be in disguise, and other things suited to become the ultimate spy.

I severed ties to my parents, since it was needed as a worker for Haven to not put others in danger or harm's way. This was fine with me, in a way I knew that it was the best for them not to get hurt since I was going to place them in danger. I was placed under the care of a naval officer named Cusco, only by his first name and nothing more. He taught me all that there is to know about hacking from his field, though I knew a fair trade myself. He also taught me other tools I needed, as to how to fight in hand to hand combat. It was nice to know that I can defend myself, since I was only known as the computer nerd of the group. That was a flaw with me: I placed others before myself. I knew this was true, since I would make sure others were safe before saving my own neck. I hated thinking of myself, even know I knew how to take care of myself and make myself disappear from the internet or from anywhere with technology.

But as I got older I knew that what I was doing was coming at a price in the end. I was risking my neck, the neck of those in Haven, and those who I was stealing from. I had to be careful, make sure what I was doing that going to be clear with nothing left behind or else I could get people killed, or even myself. I was a hard thing to grasp as a seventeen year old girl who had the logical mind of a 40 year old from MIT. With that in mind, I wondered if I ever had a chance at a normal life, a chance at being a typical girl who went to prom, had a average brain or even had a decent boyfriend. But now, I guess I was destined for better things.

More dangerous things.

It all started with a hacking protocol that I was assigned to get into. It was a colder night in France and I was working away in my station on the second floor of Haven that was underground. I was briefed on what to find and when I need to have it by, but I could get it sooner if I wanted to. But this time it was different, much different. As I was hacking into the computer system I saw the screen going fuzzy for a moment or two, making me stop my progress and then see it go blank. I looked behind me at Cusco, seeing him look at the other screens around me and seeing the exact same thing. I knew something was up since our computers systems never went down, not once since I started working at Haven.

"_Que continue ici?" __**What is going on here? **_I heard behind me as I saw the head of my department walk over to us, hands behind his back and a look of anger on his face.

"_Nous ne connaissons pas monsieur. Les écrans sont allés blanc et nous ne pouvons pas trouver une source à elle." __**We don't know sir. The screens went blank and we can't find a source to it. **_Cusco replies back behind me as I tried to find the source through my techniques and loops. but I found nothing.

"_Can we get back online?" __** Can we get back online? **_I heard behind me as I looked behind me at the director.

"_Pas encore monsieur. Celui qui a fait ceci est au delà de notre monsieur de technologie." __**Not yet sir. Whoever did this is beyond our technology sir. **_This was beyond frustrating for me trying to figure out what the problem what, but then all of the screen came back on again and there was a face on the screen. It was a pale face, almost looking too skinny for his own good and slicked back brown hair. His face was sinister, beyond sinister with a complexion that looked rather evil than good.

"Haven Industries. You have someone of great value. If you wish to stay underground from the public eye, or even alive, you will give her over to me with no fuss or confrontation." He said through to almost me, giving me a chill up and down my spine. His accent was German, I knew that for certain.

"I know how to get into your network, and you must believe me when I say that I can take you down within seconds if you don't uphold your end of the bargain. All I want, is Emily Tresta." He said into the screen and I froze in my spot, looking at the screen and hoping that it was someone else, or even a dream. He knows who I am? HOw could that be since I was under wraps for years? What does he want with me? Before I could look back at Cusco, he spoke once more.

"You have 12 hours to hand her over to me." he said, and finally left the screen. Everything else on the screens around me went black and there was no noise in the room. I knew all eyes were on me as I slowly got up from my seat, eyes still glued onto the screen in front of me. There shock of being wanted by a foreign and unknown man was sell scaring me, knowing that my life was no in danger for some odd reason. He must of known that I was a hacker, a great one at that and that I knew technology better than some people. But what does he want me for? I finally looked behind me at Cusco, who walked over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. I knew he was never one for emotions, but I knew he had a heart somewhere in there for his students.

"We are not going to do this." He said in english, his broken french accent coming through. I shook my head.

"But Haven.." I was started to say, but he shook his head and I stopped talking.

"But nothing. We're going to figure this out." He replied back to me, having me still concerned that he was risking his neck for me, the whole agency was risking their next for me. But after he said that to me, we heard the phone ring and one of the workers answered it. There was a pause for a second or two, until he walked over to Cusco and gave it to him. Cusco placed it on speaker phone for everyone to hear.

"Whom am I speaking to?" He asked aloud into the phone.

"Nick Fury, leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. division and of the Avengers." I heard back through the phone, an American accent. I looked up at Cusco, knowing who the Avengers were. They helped save the world a couple of years back when Manhattan was almost destroyed by aliens. I remembered watching them on the TV and seeing them all there, though they had a big of a back lash from the public because of the damaged that happened.

"How can I help you, Mr. Fury?" Cusco asked aloud in the phone.

"I have a plane coming in to pick up Emily Tresta out of your protection in order to protect her from the threat that is against her. WE caught the feed that just went through to you and we need some of her intelligence in her field, along with protecting her with all cost." He explained over the phone, having me look down at the phone with disbelief. Nick Fury wanted to protect me from whomever was against me and wanted me. My world was radically changing in front of my own eyes, and there was nothing for me to do about it. I could blame my brain for this, for being so smart and ahead of my time that others wanted to use me or protect me. Was this on purpose? I knew I was going to be safe with them.

As safe as a hack can be, right?


	2. Good Enough?

After being placed on a plane by S.H.I.E.L.D.S Soldiers and whisked off from France, I sat in my seat twirling my thumbs for a moment or two, still trying to figure out what was going on and why I was needed by so many people. Up to that point I never took my intelligence as something of complete and important value, only of something that can be used for others and their pleasures in life, such as power and money. But this, this was too much for me. Without even thinking I turned the ring I was wearing on my left ring finger around my finger, something I would do when I was in deep thought or was stressed. I looked down at the ring, finally, seeing that it was the same ring my mother gave me before they sent me off to Haven. It was a way for them to make the news less of a tragedy that they didn't want me anymore, and that they still cared about me. I could still remember my mother giving me the ring and having a fake smile on her face. I smiled slightly, seeing the gold band on my finger glisten slightly in the light of the plane. I then tucked my jacket sleeve over my ring slightly as I saw two men approached in their respective uniforms.

"We need you to come with us." one of them said aloud to me and I got up slowly, unbuckling myself from the seat I was in and standing up completely and trying to find my balance while the plane was still flying. I followed them towards the back of the plane into another smaller room, seeing no one there but a rounded table in the middle that was shined and glossed with a black top. The lights were dimmed slightly as I saw the two men close the door behind me. From that point on I was completely confused, more than before seeing nothing on the table and still standing up by it, waiting for something to happen. After a few moments or so, I heard the door opening behind me once more from where I came from and I saw a taller man walk through.

He had a black coat on, with black clothing and a a stern look on his face. But the one feature about him that made me take a step back almost, was the patch over his eye. It gave it a good standard of determination and anger on his face, but I knew he was doing that for show in a sense as he looked over at me with his one eye. I stayed silent as he approached me, hands behind his back.

"Emily Testa." He said to me in almost a questioning tone to see if I was who he said I was. I nodded my head, seeing him nod back at me.

"Do you why you are here?" He asked me, tilting his head to the side slightly. I was quiet for a moment or two.

"I'm being threatened by some guy who wants me to hack for him for no apparent reason?" I asked him in almost a shrug and he gave a slight nod at me.

"He needs your ability to not only hack information, but to obtain money for his new weapon he'll use against the world." He explained to me, having me raise an eyebrow at me. He then walked over to one of the drawers hidden behind the table, taking out a file and sliding it over to me from one end of the table to another. I took it from him and reading through some of what he was talking about. There he was, Johann Schmit, his face in the middle of the file notes and having a sinister look on his face. I knew him from being on the computer and talking about wanting to take me. I read through some of his file and saw what he's done in the past, way past.

"I take it you're Nick Fury?" I asked him aloud, not taking my face off from looking at the file. I could tell he nodded his head and I smiled slightly.

"I recognized your voice from the call you gave me and my superior." I replied back to him, seeing form the corner of my eye his eyebrow being raised.

"You did." He said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"I'm not just a hacker you know." I replied to him, placing the file back on the table and knowing more about this Schmit than I ever wanted to know. He lived back in the 40's something along the lines of a Nazi general. He once wanted to take over the world but that was foiled, later coming back to our day in age and wanted to do almost the same thing.

"I know you're more than a hacker. You have the brain of a 50 year old MIT graduate and also a keen knowledge in statistics, 10 languages and computer technology." Nick Fury explained aloud to me and I smiled, looking at him completely.

"You forgot about being trained in hand to hand combat and artillery since I was 15." I replied back to him in almost a joking term. Nick Fury started walking around the table, still looking at me intensely.

"All in the same, you are the best hacker there is when it comes to government defense and foreign affairs. Schmit wants you and your intelligence to fund his new plan and device. We are sent under order to make sure he doesn't lay a finger on you." Nick Fury explained to me aloud as he was coming over to stand next to me. I eyed him from my spot and saw how serious the situation was and how much I was needed for the wrong man.

"You're here to babysit me." I said in a cold tone, thinking that it was all that it was since I was a bit out of their league and only needed to protection.

"No, not necessarily." he replied back to me, having me fold my hands in front of my chest and wonder what was going on.

"We were going to recruit you before Schmit found you first. As soon as he found you, however, we jumped to the opportunity of getting you into our safety. We wanted to recruit you for your intelligence in fixing out where Schmit is located and what he is up to." He explained to me, "We've tried to do it on our own but Schmit knows how to hide our information from the most intelligent people we have."

"Well, they never met me." I replied back to him, moving the hair away from my eyes and seeing him nod his head.

"Which is why we need you on our team, Clover." He said to me, having me look up at him from using my team name with my old Bureau. I smiled at him, thinking of how good that name fits me since I was a teenager. I thought of a new adventure for me, outside of the French realm and with people who know what they are doing. It was going to be risky, I was going to have to face death once or twice doing this. But as I said before, I was never one for sitting in one place for a long time.

"I'm in."

* * *

I walked over to the window and saw what we were heading to: a floating aircraft that was meant for the sea. It was large compared to what I have seen before in France, large and advance. How could something that big be floating in the sky and still look that good as a carrier? I was in awe as we approached it and landed inside one of the hangers. I followed Fury out with a few solider next to me, armed with guns in front of them. Were they trying to protect me? And if so, then from who or what? Before I could ask what was going on, we were walking through the hallways of the advanced carrier.

"This is what we like to call Helicarrier." Fury explained to me from in front of me.

"An aircraft that can fly, how interesting." I said aloud as I saw computer and computers whizzing past me in rooms. I wanted to hack into them already, my fingers itching towards touching them and see what these guys had to offer in order for me to play with them.

"It's the only way we can stay out of sight whilst doing our job." Fury explained to me as we walked some more into what looked like the main area of the whole ship. There were at least 200 soldiers dressed in blue suits working around the clock on machines and computers, talking to one another and in front of us was a big window to see out into the big open sky. I was in awe on big the sky was, since I could only see from the ground below me, this was beyond real. This whole situation was beyond real for me, and it only happened within hours.

"This, is our team." Fury said in front of me, and I stopped walking and saw the group of people in front of me, looking at me. ONly one was female, and the rest were guys. One of them was big, real big with blond long hair and startling blue eyes looking through me with his arms folded in front of me. I then saw a bit smaller man next to him, but just as big with muscles with darker blond hair that as styled to the right, darker blue eyes and a good looking face. Next to the two blonds was a much older man with short brown hair and a trimmed facial hair, a determined look on his face. After him was the girl with fiery red hair trimmed just to her jawline. She was real pretty and was wearing a black jumpsuit that was tight enough for her to move around in. The last in line was a brown haired man who looked more harmless than the rest with semi waved brown hair and glasses on. They were pros in this, at least that's what I saw when I looked at them. Me? I was only in my mid twenties and I had a genius brain, what could I do with a gun in comparison to these guys?

"Team, this is Emily Tresta, our new member of the team." Fury said aloud to the group and they still stared at me. I smiled at the rogue, trying to seem as nice and as harmless as possible. The second blond, the one with the stunning face, was the first to walk over to me and smile at me.

"Ma'am, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Steve Rogers." He said to me, holding out his hand for me to shake. I shook it, seeing how big his hand was in mine and how I felt like a house compared to him, He smiled at me, a signature smile that would be seen in the movies or on TV. I then saw the last brunette man walk over to me, having me look at him for a moment or two before realizing who it was. I knew him from his research and what he discovered as a scientist.

"Bruce Banner?" I asked him in a shocked question and raised eyebrows. He smiled and nodded his head.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Emily." He said to me in a warm tone, something that did fit his body type and his smile.

"I've read your work on Gamma Radiation and I find it amazing!" I explained to him and it made myself sound like a silly school girl. I heard the rest of the team chuckle behind him as the firs brunette, the older one who looked like he could be my dad, walked up and placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder.

"He is known for other things, but his work is up to par." the man said aloud as Bruce just nodded his head. The man took his hand off of Bruce's shoulder and held it out for me to shake.

"Tony Stark, nice to meet the little hacker that Fury's been talking about for the past 12 hours." Tony explained to me and I smiled, knowing who he was form his technology advancement when it came to weapons. I should of known from his face that has been all over the news.

"Same with you, Mr. Stark. I've read your work on advance weaponry with the use of clean energy and I find it fascinating." I explained to him, seeing him give the same smile Bruce gave to me.

"I like her." He said, pointing to me and then looking at Fury at the same time. I saw the other blond man come over and look down at me, making me feel so small as Tony and Bruce moved out of the way.

"I am Thor, son of Odin from the world of Asgard. Tis a pleasure to meet you madam." he said to me, his voice was booming and lovely, but gave me chill as I heard Tony laugh next to him.

"Believe me, that's how he speaks to everyone. You get used to it." He said to me in his smirky tone of voice. I smiled at Thor and shook his hand gently, thinking that his hand could in fact break me within a second if he flexed. Lastly was the girl who walked over and smiled at me, shaking my hand gently and making me feel better that she had a normal handshake.

"I'm Natasha, good to meet you. Fury's been talking about how you know computers." She said to me in a friendly tone. I nodded my head at her.

"Where's Clint?" Fury asked aloud, having us all look at him.

"He's in his nest at the moment, you know how he is." Natasha said to him as she walked over to Fury, "He's been working on his own research."

"You know computers? Wanna take a look at mine? I can't get a figure to stay on correctly." Bruce asked me in a curious and happy tone. I smiled, nodding my head and knowing that I was going to be happy here with this group of heroes. All I wanted to know was if I can live it up.

If I was good enough.


	3. I Think The Same Thing

"The figures on this side of the computer here are stable, but this side here is going off the charts." Bruce explained to me as he showed me his advance computer and I stood in awe of it for a moment or two. We were in his Lab now, the rest of the team following to see what I can do and how I can work a computer. Bruce, on the other hand, didn't mind at all as he showed me all of his work. Tony was standing behind me, making me think that he was judging me from afar as I looked at the computer to see what it can do.

"How long has it been like this?" I asked him, getting my knowledge into the game and trying to figure out what I can do to fix it.

"About 3 hours. We've tried with our head techs here on Helicarrier, but no such luck." Bruce explained to me as I placed my hands on the keyboard in front of me, taking in one big breath. I try to take a breath before I hack into a computer, to ease the tension in my shoulders and brain before making a big move on a hunching piece of metal and intelligence. It was routine for me, typical in my nature. As soon as the breath as gone, I started typing.

Hacking to me was like running through a book, seeing information and information whizzing through my eyes and past my skin and me trying to find the right pieces to make it happen. I make it seem like I was in a library, going from the typical mainframe to the more private books, and getting through using the loops that I was taught and know by heart.

"Got it." I said aloud, seeing the figures that were once frozen on the spot go back to normal. It was silent behind me and I looked to see if either I was alone for that something happened without my knowledge. In fact, everyone was starting at the screen with either big eyes or with disbelief on their faces, namely Bruce and Stark. Fury only smiled from his spot as Those laughed silently under his breath seeing Bruce look like he was hit by a bus at the screen.

"How did you do the?" he asked, looking over at me finally and I shrugged.

"Some tricks I learned from the French Secret Service. It's elementary hacking with some twitches in routing the mainframe and tracking your recent work." I explained to him, sounding more like a scientist with a lazy side to it as Tony scratched the back of his neck.

"Impressive." Steve said aloud with a breathy tone in his voice as I mode away from the computer and saw another working progress on another computer screen. Without thinking I walked over and looked at what was being done, seeing that it was the Iron Man suite being updated.

"When was the last time this computer was updated with new information?" I asked aloud, still looking at the screen and seeing Tony walk over to me, a smirk on his face like he knew what he was doing.

"A week ago, and let me assure you that I have had the latest technology in all of my computers." he said aloud as I started typing a typical code into his screen. Before he could give me a complete question, I pressed enter and I saw a big smile his face.

"There." I said aloud, seeing Tony look at the screen.

"What did you do to my computer?" he asked me in confusion and almost disbelief. I felt bad thing, not asking if I should do it or not. It was a bad habit for me, seeing a computer and jumping not it to make it better.

"Updated it to the current mainstream that most government agencies use on their computers. And this one is the best because you won't have to upgrade for another two to three years. Both the English and French use this and it's highly compatible." I explained to him as he looked at his new updated computer. I looked back at Bruce, who silently gave me a thumbs up and I smiled widely and tony looked back at me with wide eyes.

"How is that possible?" He asked in a joking tone.

"Like I said, Mr. Stark, she is highly intelligent in computer technology and statistics." Fury explained aloud from his spot, "Think of her as prodigy with her age."

"She's good." Natasha said from her spot.

"Who's good?" I heard behind her and we all turned to see another man standing there behind Natasha looking into the room. As he walked into the room I saw him completely then: tan skin and light brown hair that was cut short. He was toned on his arms and legs, standing a bit shorter than the rest of the group but not by much. He was wearing a black uniform with a sleeveless shirt, black jeans and boots. He looked right at me as Natasha spoke. He gave me a sense of fear, since he looked so stern in his spot. But there was something about his face, thought showing that he was a bit older than me by maybe 4 or 5 years, made me think of him as handsome. Was it his eyes, how blue they were? Or the look of determination on his face?

"The new recruit to our team, the one Fury was talking about last night." She explained to him, seeing him look over at her and back at Fury.

"Clint, this is Emily Tresta. Emily, this is Agent Clint Barton." Fury introduced us both as I saw him walk over to me and hold out his tanned hand for me to shake.

"Nice to meet you." he said to me, his voice was low and a bit deep. I smiled at him and nodded my head as well, thinking of how intimidated I a just looking at him. I never had this problem before when it came to guys, especially with older guys. What was going on with me?

"Good to see you came down from your nest, because I wanted to talk to the both of you alone." Fury said aloud to the two of us, having me look over at Clint from the corner of my eye. The rest of the team left the room without any fuse and there were just three of us in the room. This time I felt the tension in the air, thinking that I was about to be punished for something I have no yet done.

"I reason I wanted to talk to the two of you, is because you two are in special assignment from the rest of the group. Clover, you already know how valuable you are to Schmit." He explained to me as I nodded my head, "And your life is top priority now for this mission. Because of this, I'm assigning Clint to be your protector." When he said this, I looked over at Clint, and he to me. I knew, from the back of his head and behind his eyes, that he didn't want this. Who would blame him? It was babysitting job for sometime whom I can see is a highly trained soldier, and the last thing he needs to to watch over a brainy kid.

"Sir, is this necessary to look out for me?" I asked him with almost a hint of annoyance. It seemed like a waste of time and his time as well.

"Your life is our number one priority and we cannot afford to have Schmit to take not only a human under his control, but one of our members. Your intelligence is the key to either saving the world or destroy it." Fury replied back to me, making me so quiet and understand in my brain that I was key in this whole operation. Well, my brain was. Why did I have to be so smart to the point of needing protection from others. It was horrid for me to think of since I could fend for myself, I have since my parents kicked me out.

* * *

I sat up on one of the walkways facing the big window out looking at the sky. I was higher above the rest of the soldiers working, on my own and letting my feet dangle in the air as I thought about all that happened. What couldn't of I had a simpler life, away from technology or computers and grow up like a normal person. It was so confusing for me to be so smart and full of intelligence that my own life was on the line. And to make it worse, I was placing others on the line because of what I can do and how I can do it.

The sun was about to set over the ocean below us and I can see the tinted yellow, orange, and red in the sky, making me feel like I was in a painting that I remembered seeing when I was a little girl. My mother's only attempt to be artistic. I liked that painting a bit, it made me feel warmth when I was in my darkest places of my life. It gave me peace, for only a moment or two.

"Hey." I heard above me and I saw it was Clint, looking down at me and having what looked like a small smile on his face, the first I ever saw him give me. I felt so small compared to seeing him above me, since it was the fact that I was sitting down and he was standing.

"You're in my spot." he simply said. Not in anger or in a pissed way, but like a simple man who was trying to make small talk. But I thought of it as pushing into his space. I coughed and looked down, seeing why he would choose this spot and I was about to get up.

"It's fine, you can stay there." He said, holding out his hand to stop me from moving. I immediately stopped and sat very still as he joined me, sliding his feet under the bears and sitting next to me like he's been doing it forever. I smiled slightly as he smiled back at me.

"Listen." I started, looking forward and not wanting to make it too awkward between us if I looked at him, "I know you must not like the fact that you have to babysit me so that I don't die."

"You are a bit valuable." He said to me, having me look at him with a raised eyebrow. I never expected him to say that.

"What?" I asked.

"I read your file, since no one else did and they went on Fury's word. You're pretty smart, I'll give you that. Plus the background on fighting and foreign affairs, you're just a valuable as the rest of us in our own fields." He explained to me in a softer tone than what I thought he would usually use, "It's not that I don't want to protect you, it's a bit more complicated."

"I know, you're a soldier. The last thing you want to do is watch someone like me when you want to fight." I said to him in a mutter. Soldiers, from what I experienced, wanted to keep to themselves and nothing more, and other meaningless jobs they were given were extra work on their part. Me, I was extra work.

"More like a assassin." He said, having me look t him again and see how serious he was as he looked forward. I never thought of him being a assassin, more of a super soldier than one of those who just kill and nothing else. That gave me chill, then again that takes a certain person with a rare personality to pull that off and get away with it. Almost like what I can do.

"But if he wants me to protect you, that must mean that Schmit really wants you for more than just your brain." He replied aloud.

"How good are you?" I asked him in curiosity. He smiled, a smirk that I could see Tony Stark use when he would talk about himself.

"Let's just say, I can take out a man's eye from a great distance." he said aloud to me, a small smile on his face, "They don't call me Hawkeye because I look pretty." With this I smiled, I knew he had a personality somewhere in there. The doubts I had towards him about if he wanted to get to me, or even look at me, were fading away like fog on water. I looked back out in front of me and I saw the sky getting darker by the minute and the stars coming out to be seen behind the clouds. I thought of my life then again, in the silence I was having with Clint and thinking of where I would be if I wasn't valuable like this.

"I never thought I would be here." I said aloud, without even thinking about it. It was true, being in this place, with people who saved the world and looked to me. It was beyond real, too real for me to think about.

"None of us did." Clint replied aloud, having me look over at him as he looked out into the sky from his spot next to me, "But there is reason for us to be here, that's what Bruce thinks. He thinks there's a purpose as to why we are here with our certain skills."

"What do you think?" I asked him in curiosity. He sat there, having a determined look on his face and then looked over at me.

"I think the same thing."


	4. I'm Not A Soldier

The next three days were nothing but research on the whereabouts of Schmit and what he was up to. I was working on a custom computer they got me so I can work at my pace and not break anything. I got in on some locations, but nothing too big for a discovery, as my hacking skills were going pretty fast. Locations were simple: but this guys knew how to hide and how to hide well. I did have help from Bruce, who came in and out every once in awhile with my research when he's not doing anything on his own. The rest of the team was working on their own research and workouts.

By the third week I was working in the front room were the rest of the computers were and showing what had to be done with the soldiers when I looked up for a moment or two, seeing Clint in his nest looking down and quiet. Since our conversation, he kept mostly to himself and I knew that the both of us were on good terms with the agreement with Fury. I looked back down and saw that my work was finished with the soldier that was in need of my help.

"Clover, how is your day?" I heard behind me and I saw it was Thor, walking over to me with a big grin on his face.

"Doing good, just checking computers. How are you?" I asked him as we both walked over to the stairs together, walking up to the second level.

"Quite pleasant thank you, I spoke to Jane today." He explained to me, having me look up at him with wonder and happiness.

"Jane? A lady friend?" I asked him in almost a joking tone. He laughed a hearty laugh as we walked down the hallway on the second floor towards what would be the workout room.

"Yes, we were acquainted before I came to this place." he explained to me as we went into the room. There was a punching bag, some machines to work on and a rack of guns along the wall with targets to shoot at in the other room.

"SHe sounds lovely." I replied to him and seeing someone else already in the target room. There was Tony Stark, shooting at the target with something attached to his arm and was looking rather like a plasma launcher. He shot once more, hitting perfectly at the target. He then pulled it down from its place and saw both myself and Thor coming into the workout room, smiling and walking out of the target room.

"Ah, hoping to find you and talk to you about something, MIT ginger." Tony said to me and I smiled from his nickname for me.

"And what would that be?" I asked him, seeing Thor sit down near us on one of the benches.

"I wanna see how you would do in combat." Tony said to me aloud as he was unhooking his contraption from his arm, "I read up on you, seeing that you can fight. But I want to see it myself."

"You don't trust what's on paper?" I asked him in a coy tone, walking over to the gun rack and picking up a regular army gun in my hand. This took my back to when I was back in France with my training. It was normal for me to hold a gun, going from my nerdy state of computers to me to my solider self of defense and survival.

"It's hard to trust what's on paper when Fury's stamp is on the button of it." Tony said in almost a lower tone as I walked over to the target room and kept my eyes on him, showing up my gun and shooting the target five times in the bullseye. I knew how to shoot something square in the middle from the moment I was placed in the Bureau. I saw Tony look from the target to me, a smirk on his face.

"Well there goes that theory." He said aloud as I smiled at him, placing the gun back down next to me.

"Still think I'm MIT material?" I asked him aloud, seeing Thor get up from his spot to walk over to the target and examining what I have done.

"As long as you can work a computer better than me, then yeah." Tony replied as I smiled, thinking that I did make a bit of a change in his realm on how he viewed me. WE both looked at Thor and saw him placed his hands on the still warm target from my bullets.

"Thee lady has the aim of a marvelous hunter." Thor said in almost a surprising tone, "Well done, the aim of a true soldier."

"Really?" I heard behind us and I saw Clint walk in with Natasha behind him, both of them in their uniforms and looking like they were about to have a good workout. I smiled slightly at him, but something about seeing him was making my insides go a bit numb and slightly go up in temperature. I tried to shake that out of my heads as I saw him look at me with his piercing blue eyes.

"She's quite the shooter, Hawk. She might be as good as you when it comes to aim." Tony said aloud as he looked from me to Clint, making me think of what he was trying to do and why he was doing it. What a little gem Tony was, trying to play it smooth and make a bit of trouble while he was on it.

"I hardly doubt it." I replied aloud, trying to hide a bit of embarrassment that was creeping on my face.

"That's only with guns, I doubt she can hand to hand combat." Clint said back to Tony and I felt a tinge of what would either be either pain from what he was saying that I was weak, or determination to show that I could be just as good as the next guy. Natasha looked from me to clint with a eyebrow raised.

"You challenging me?" I asked him in almost a coy grin and I saw him look at me directly from his spot. It was almost like he wanted to see me fail, but why would be when he was meant to protect me.

"A friendly quarrel between teammates wouldn't hurt a bit." Thor chimed in from his spot as he walked over from where he was to Natasha.

"way to chime in Shakespeare." Tony said under his breath.

"Hang on, I doubt Fury would be thrilled to see this happen between these two." Natasha pointed out from her spot as I saw Clint walk around to he could be directly in front of me.

"You're sound more like our big guy, Widow. Give them a few minutes of getting this out of their system and then all will be well." Tony replied as he walked over to Thor and Natasha. I smiled from the spot, seeing the both of us square off in front of the others and seeing who can win at a fight. I may be a hacker, but I know how to hold my ground as good a s solider. It was a packages deal as I saw him run up to me, throwing out a arm. Before it would hit me, I took in a deep breath and evaluated what was going to happen. Fighting in front of the team to show that I can be one of them instead of all brains, fighting against a man whom I've only known for less than a week but I know for certain that I might have feelings for him: this was all too intense for me.

I blocked his punch, ducked from his other punch and shifted out of the way for his kick. In return I punched him in the chest, kicked for his knee and flipped to be behind him, seeing him block one of my punched to his neck and him throwing out one in return. After I got him in the jaw he took a step back, smiling slightly and I smiled back, cracking my neck and having my hands up for the next wave that he had.

"Pretty good." He replied back to me, making my smirk t him a bit bigger as he came back full force throwing his whole arm at me. That force alone made me fall back and lock with both of my arms, falling to almost a split level near his knees as I grabbed his thrown arm, threw him up and over my head. He landed behind me on his feet and I released him, throwing myself back up and going after him. We went like this for what seemed like a few minutes, but it was most 30 seconds. I was about to be knocked down when I blocked his leg, whirled around and kicked him square in the chest to make him fall to the floor. As I stood over him, hands in fists in front of me and saw him on the floor, I then realized what I was doing and took a few steps back and looked down at my hands.

This was not what I wanted to be when I signed up for this, I only wanted to help with the computers, not be a killing machine and get away with it. This was not who I was, who I was supposed to me. I hated this, especially it was with a guy I kind of liked. I looked up from my spot to the others who were watching. Thor was silent, Natasha was trying to find the right words to say something to help me, I could tell. And lastly, Tony was looking down and away from me.

"All is well, isn't it Tony?" I asked him under my breath as I passed him and the others by going out the door and into the hallway.

"Clover." I heard Natasha call out to me to stop me, but I tuned her out and walked down a bit and stopped in the middle of the hallway, placing my head down and holding my head in my hands.

"Nice going Stark." I heard Natasha say to Tony even from a bit away from the room. I walked faster away from the group. A part of me wanted to stay behind and see if Clint was okay, but a part of me wanted to hide for as long as I can and not show my face to them anymore. This was not who I was supposed to be on this missions, stick to only computers and nothing else.

* * *

That night I stuck to my room of the carrier and did nothing but think about what I did and why I did do it. Was it to prove something to them? That I wasn't weak? Why would I think of that and bring that to life? It was a mere mystery to me and I hated it. I especially hated the fact that I did hurt Clint, even though I knew he provoked it and wanted to fight me. Why did I want to fight him in return? Did I want to show him something, him of all people?

There was a knock on the door and I looked over, thinking it might be Natasha wanted to talk and see if I was alright. She was too kind to think that of me. But what if it was Fury, figuring out what happened and was going to scold me. I walked over from my bed and turned the knob, seeing that on the other side of the door was in fact Clint.

He looked rather flushed out from what we did to each other, a bruise on his cheek and a bruise or two on his arms. I was in the same state as he was, but a big bruise on my stomach that did hurt like hell when I walked. He had the look of determination on his face, but also had some concern as well seen with his eyes and cheeks.

"Hello." he said to me, making my heart go weak for a solid second before coming back for reality. I smiled slightly as him and moved out of the way for him to come in. He walked in, and from his walking I could tell he was sore from what happened. I kept my eyes on him, as intense as a predator on her prey, as he looked back at me.

"I came to see if you were okay." He said to me, having me look down for a moment or two, "Natasha told me what happened. After Tony told me his side of the story, I wanted to make sure you were still in one piece."

"I've…..never done that….to anyone before." I explained slowly to him, trying to be calm about it but just thinking about how I switched brains for a moment was scary enough.

"It was wrong for me to provoke you into doing that. It was uncalled for and out of line." He explained to me, "And I can see where you are coming from. It happens to soldiers all the time in the heat of the moment."

"But I'm not a soldier." I blurted out at him, having him so silent for a moment as I tried to calm myself down again, "I'm meant to work on the computer, nothing more." It was a sad thing for me to say out loud in front of him, but I felt as though it needed to be said by me out loud instead of in my head. And now I look like the crazy person in the group who can't keep it together.

"This isn't your fault. You reacted without thinking, it happens to everyone." Clint explained to me aloud, making me feel a bit better about it.

"Look, I've seen worse things happen to soldiers who were trained in higher ranks than me, and that's the truth. What you did back there was nothing at all. It was all my fault for letting it happen without stopping it." Clint said to me, his voice was a bit softer now. I never knew this can come out of him, something of this concern and genuine heart for another person. Ive; never seen it with him since he wants to be alone and in isolation. He was a solo soldier, but not from what I can see.

"Thanks Clint." I merely replied, seeing that he did want to help out with what happened and wanted to make it better. He smiled slightly and ruffled his hair.

"You're welcome."


	5. Operation Germany

I was a new assignment with Clint as my protector being behind me every step of the way. Since our conversation in my room about what it meant to be soldier, we were getting used to each other then, and I swore off laying a hand of him. It was too much for me to handle, since I hated inflicting harm on any other person whom I cared about, that had a life hanging in the balance because of me, who was getting closer to my heart more than they would ever know. It was getting worse, my feelings for him, because of the mere fact that he did care for me and was concerned for my well being.

My research on the computer was getting better and I was getting closer to finding Schmit and where he was located. It was harder than I thought,but the more i hacked, the more I can find places where he was located and what he wanted in those areas. Schmit knew how to hide, I gave him that. But I was up to the challenge, knowing that I can take this man down and get him out of the picture for good. Bruce would help me, of course, and in return I would help him with his technology research.

Fury wanted Clint and I to go into a Germany government agency in Munich and figure out where this Schmit was and how to find him. I interfered with some information that could be taken from the facility using my technology skills for breaking in and grabbing it. Schmit was working with his associates that were disguised as workers there, making me glad that I was hacker so I knew what they looked like to avoid them. The day we were going to go was the day that the building was going to be closed for the day. That was going to give us a good time to go in and not be found, If I can get into security and give us the leeway. Tony was going to be our point man with this, helping me from the plan with security, this was from him telling me that he was going to try and make things better for us. What a gem he was.

We got into the area outside the facility in one of our smaller planes, both Clint and myself standing on the launchpad and looking down at the facility. It was a large skyscraper with odd angles and making me feel the intensity of what was going to happen. This was my first mission outside the office and I knew that all was on the line for this one. I looked over at Clint, seeing his uniform on with his bow and arrow hooked onto his back and him giving me a nod. I looked down at my own uniform that got together for me: Black skinny jeans with boots, a black skin tight shirt and vest, with a shotgun strapped to my back from the vest and a gun on my leg strapped down. Since the incident with the gun in the workout room, I was allowed to have a few guns on me since I knew how to aim without looking. Then I had my black slick backpack that had a hoodie attached to it, something I picked up from the internet, holding my computer and my tools and that sandwiched my gun between my back and backpack. It was all a matter of seeing things before they were put in place. My bangs were in a french braid away from my eyes and I grasped the edge of the plane with my fingerless gloves.

The both of us jumped onto the roof of the building and saw the plane fly off to hide. As soon as we landed on the roof we both ran over to the roof access door and I unhooked the box and started to hack into it so that the alarm won't go off. It took my five seconds, and Clint opened the door, having me follow as went down a few flights of stairs, stopping at the 35th floor and going into the hallway.

It was pure white on the floor and walls, but I knew where we were heading as we walked down the street. If my computer hacking was good, we were there when no one else should be there since it was a holiday. I followed the route in where I memorized from the back of my mind and found that room that I was looking for. It was the control room, well one of many in the building. But this one was for what we needed: Schmit. I walked in and got to work, taking out my tools and prying open one of the boxes to move around the wires and knobs as Clint stay by the door and looked for anyone to come.

"You in Clove?" Tony asked me in my ear piece. It was nice to hear a good voice from the skies above.

"I'm in, Stark. Give me the lead." I said to him as I pulled out my computer and hooked it to the boxes that I needed.

"It's the second files under the name of Delta." Tony explained to me and as he walked me through it and I got some information from the boxes, I thought of how my old life in a control was. Now it seemed like a dream that I as working for the American government on a team made for self defense. It was now awesome to be able to do this. I got most of what I needed in the bode until I heard something beeping on my computers. I looked back over and hit a few buttons, seeing the camera getting on my screen and I saw a few men coming into the building, all dressed in back soldier uniforms and they didn't look German government material. Clint looked from his spot to me with some concern in his eyes.

"What is it?" He asked me aloud as I clicked a bit more, zooming in on who was going to be joining us. I panicked and got the rest of the information that I needed from this room and closed my computer, getting my things in the computer and throwing it on my back, trapping my shotgun in my back and got the boxes back to where they were.

"Clove?" He asked me, using my code name and I walked over to him, looking out of the room and down the hallway.

"We're not the only ones in the building." I said to him and he got out his gun to hold at his hand. We walked down the hallway in a brisk pace.

"Stark, you see those guys?" I asked in my earpiece as we approached the stairs and went down a few more flights.

"Got them on my radar, Clove. Steve knows who they are." Tony said aloud as we approached another door, Clint going first as I was throwing my hoodie up just in case we were going to encounter them.

"Who are they?" I asked as Clint threw open the door. Before Tony could answer, I felt Clint grab my arm and I looked up, seeing Clint throw up a gun and I saw three black dressed men in front of us.

"Down!" He yelled, having me duck to the floor as he shot the three of them down before they drew their guns. As they fell to the floor, I shot up, Clint grabbing my arm gently and we ran down the hallway and towards the middle of the building. I had my gun next to me then, knowing more were going to come since gunfire was evident.

"We need to get to the vault." I said to him as we ran a bit more and turned a corner. There were about five more men there, and we both ducked out of the way as they started to shoot. Ducking around the corner and hearing them shooting at the wall next to us made Clint take out his bow and hit some buttons on the bow for something to happen. Then, tapping a button on his arrow tube attached to his back, he took out a arrow, drawing it and aiming behind us down the hall near the five men. He shot it, making the arrow do a hissing sound and then seeing fog coming through from the hallway. I shot up, Clint following me and drawing a arrow from behind him and I threw out my shotgun over my shoulder and cocked it with one hand . Pointing with my other hand I had my hood over my head slightly to hide my eyes and I shot down one men coming through the fog. Clint shot at another behind the first one that I shot and then the next one as I cocked my gun again. We shot down all five of the men within 10 seconds. I placed my shotgun back in its place as we made it over to the door I wanted to get to. It was the vault that we needed to get in and get what we needed to find Schmit.

"You two still in one piece?" I heard Fury say over our earpieces.

"Affirmative." Clint replied as I worked on the vault with my tools that I had. It was a bit complex, not the typical vault and I took out my computer once more, placing the wires in with the number tablet. It took me longer than I though it was, but I then got through and opened the vault slowly. I peered inside as Clint stayed outside, making sure we won't have trouble.

"Get the files and get out." Fury said into my ear piece as I grabbed my computer, hooking it to the computer inside and getting the hacking down. As I got deeper into where Schmit was going to be, I saw something else on the file, my name.

My name was on the file.

I hacked the rest of the file some more and I found the file that had my name on it. Clicking it, I saw all that there was no know about me. My birth, were I was raised, my parents and their names, where I went to school. But I saw something else, something linked with my parents. I peered in and saw something that made my heart stop beating for a moment or two. I knew then that I was in way over my head, and it was all my fault.

Schmit killed my parents. I was frozen for a moment or two, why would be do that? I knew my relationship with them was horrible to say the least, but this was still awful and it gave me a big whole in my chest. It made me hate this man even more, wanting to kill him myself. They were still my parents, and they had a funny way of showing that they loved me. But then I heard something clicked on that computer, clicking slowly at first and then getting faster. I've sense this before with other industries, seeing the computer as a bomb if it was hacked into. I didn't see it coming, not like this, and I fell for it. I knew it was a trap as I threw my computer in the backpack and my backpack over my shoulders.

"Clint, get out!" I said aloud as he looked behind me and was about to ask what was going on when I took one step out the vault. I looked behind me for one second, and everything went white. There was a big explosion inside the vault, the computer was a bomb to go off after being tapped. But I had all I needed from the files, though I flew in the air from the power of the explosion. I blew back and slammed into the wall as Clint was slammed into his side from the force and we fell to the floor. My back was against the wall, rubble on my legs and soot on my face and arms. I felt my arms and legs were still working, but my ear was slashed up from glass hitting up, making the pain bearable and feeling the blood trickle down my neck, backpack step and shirt. Clint shot up from his spot, getting the excess rubble off his body and walked over to me, kneeling down in front of me as I tried to get my vision back in order.

"Hawkeye, what was that? Where's Clove?" I heard fairly over my earpiece as Clint looked at me. I blinked a few times, seeing the concern on his face, the same look he gave me days before from our talk. I hated seeing that face, seeing his face of concern for another person and me know that I inflicted that.

"Hey, can you hear me?" He asked me, gently placing his bow down next to him and touched my neck to check my pulse with his fingertips. Feeling his fingertips on my skin was like catching fire and ice together, seeing the rough skin making me jump back into reality. I was coming back to reality once more, the shock of almost being killed and my brain and ears still ringing.

"Hey." he said once more, placing his other hand on my side to check if I was hurt. It was coming back to me as I took in a deep breath after a moment. It was hard to breath, breathing in the fumes from what happened along with dust and a some dirt. I coughed a few times as he helped me up gently from my spot.

"Hawkeye, answer me." Fury said into the earpiece as I pulled out a shard of glass digging into the top of my hand.

"Sir, it was a bomb on the computer. Schmit had to go off when it was tapped. It's a defense mechanism, and now he knows." I explained to him as I got my fitting back in and we boy walked out of the hallway.

"Get out of there, I'm sending Natasha and Tony to get you out." I heard him say on the earpiece as we ran over to the stairs but were shot at from the other end of the hallway. I pulled out my gun and shot at two as Clint got the three down, but seeing more. He pressed a bottom on his harness and pulled out a arrow as I ran over to the elevator doors, unscrewing the button pad and pulling out the pad in all, seeing sparks fly and the doors opening, seeing the elevator inside.

"Clint, get in!" I screamed behind me as I ran inside and got the elevator workings to work for me. Clint ran in and I had the doors shut. Using my hacking skills, I opened the panel and used the elevator to go straight up with no stops. I felt the elevator taking us up to the stop slowly but surely as Clint reloaded his gun and I dusted off what was still on my clothes from the explosion.

"Clove, Hawk, there are more soldiers coming up your way. As soon as you can, get-" Natasha said aloud but the elevator stopped suddenly and we both clung onto something from the force of the elevator stopping. I froze for a moment, looking at the panel to see what was wrong, but I saw nothing wrong.

"We should be moving." I said aloud as I tried again.

"Tasha, can you hear me? What was that?" Clint asked in the earphone as I tried once more, nothing came up. I was now scared from what was going on. Why weren't we moving? I knew what I was doing and that calculations were correct.

"Someone else stopped the elevator." She said aloud as I looked over at Clint, thinking of who would do that.

"Clove, Hawk, it's Schmit." I heard Steve say over the earpiece and I froze in my spot as Clint did the same, "He's doing it, you need to get out of that elevator now." As soon as he said that, I felt the elevator give out from underneath us and we were in free fall. I clung onto the railing as I tried to think on how to stop this. Schmit knew we were going to use the elevator as I saw Clint take out his bow and arrow and aim for the fire escape in the elevator. I wrapped my arms around my head as he shot through the escape, thin wire attached to the arrow as it flew through the air and through the elevator shoot. He then grabbed my arms and tugged me towards him, having me wrap my arms around him and clutch his vest and harness as we followed the wire attached to his bow. His arms round my waist under my backpack as my arms around his chest, one arm going under his arm and up his back and the other around his back. We flew out of the falling elevator having me look down and see it being destroyed on the group floor. The wire pulled us up to the arrow that was now attached to the ceiling of the rooftop. We kept flying up, having me clutching Clint tighter as we were about to hit the ceiling. We were going to hit the wall faster than ever.

"Stark, a little help here!" Clint yelled into his ear piece and I heard a explosion above us where the wire was. There was a hole made there from a plasma missile and we flew through from the speed we were going at. For a brief moment I saw us in midair over the skyscraper, the sun hitting us in the face from all directions along with some rubble and glass from the explosion. I felt the gravity shooting us through, and then having us be still in midair. I looked around and saw how high we were in that moment. Before we started to fall, I felt someone grab the back of my backpack and hold the both of us up in the air. I was frozen in the air, looking behind me still holding Clint and I saw it was Stark in his suit. He looked down at his, his robotic blue eyes glowing at me with his red and yellow helmet. I could hear the jets in his feet humming as he held the both of us in the air and I looked up seeing the plane a bit higher up with Natasha on the launch pad, looking down at us with a relieved look on her face.

"Kids, stairs are more suitable for emergencies." Tony said in his joking tone as he flew up over to the ship. I was glad to see him, but not as glad being in Clint's arms for a good 30 seconds.

I'm so dead for feeling like this to him.


	6. I Need Control

"Well your hearing is still good." Bruce said aloud as he examined my ear. I was strapped down on a gurney in one of the medical wards back on the Helicarrier, and placing my computer back on the desk for Fury to look at and see what I received. Thank goodness it was hardly damaged, and the only damage was nothing really big got worry about. My computer was built for pain and for damage as well, thank goodness for the military. As soon as we got back on the plane, however, Fury wanted to make sure we were both okay. Clint made it out just fine, it was only me with the somewhat damaged ear and some bruises on my arms and legs.

"It could of been worse if you were closer to the glass." he explained to me as he got the gauze and rubbing alcohol ready to go. He then grabbed my neck gently to tilt it to the side and I knew he was going to pull out the last little piece form my ear near my cheek. I squinted as he pulled it out in a quick pace. The pain was sharp and fast, making me gasp for a moment before I calm down and he cleaned it the access blood.

"The files you got show us that he's located in South America." Fury explained to me as he watched Bruce patch up my ear. I saw that the only other people in the room was Clint and Natasha, who were standing in the back of the room looking over at Fury and hearing what he was having to say.

"He's planning on using a weapon for brainwaves." I explained to him, seeing all eyes were on me then, "He's using some kind of source for harnessing brainwaves and mind control. He's looking for some kind of source that happens to be in South America."

"So, let's go there and find him." Natasha said aloud front her spot next to Clint. I looked from her to Clint, seeing his stare at me form his spot and then look down at his feet. I wanted to thank him for saving my life and protecting me, but it wasn't the best time for that kind of thing.

"First we need to figure out what he wants specifically, then we can go there and stop him. From what happened today, we've given him a step back in his plan and he won't move for a moment or two." Fury explained to us and then looked over at me, "Was there any thing in the files on what he wanted?"

"Nothing, if he was hiding it he was doing a good job. It wasn't until I heard the tickling and almost got killed that I knew he was hiding something real good." I explained to him as I squinted from the rubbing alcohol being dabbed on me.

"Better your ear than your whole face." Bruce muttered to me as he placed the gauze on my ear gently, tapping it down.

"Right, we'll let Clover rest and as soon as we get a lead we'll head for South America." Fury said aloud and left the room after giving me one nod. I smiled slightly at him as he left, but the smile disappeared when Bruce face me completely then from the side of the gurney. He unstrapped me so I can move around if I wanted it.

"No any sudden movements for the next few days, take these pills for the pain and keep pressure off the side." he explained to me, handing me the pain pills in the bottle and I smiled at him.

"Thanks Doc." I replied back to him and he grinned. He walked out of the room as well, Clint following him before looking back at me one more time. I smiled slightly at him as it was only Natasha left in the room, looking at me from her spot. It was quiet for a moment or two between us and I could feel that she was going to give me some kind of big speech, but I didn't know of what. She walked to me and stood about a foot away from me and gurney, making me worry about what she wanted to talk bout.

"Clint showed me the file Schmit had on you." Natasha said aloud to me and I thought back to that moment, when I saw my name on the computer screen along with everything there is to know about me and then my parents…oh.

I looked down, trying to hide the fact that it was still hurting me that he killed my parents, trying to find me and get me for himself, I was in fact doing the thing I swore I was never going to do: get other hurt for my sake. I never meant for it to happen, but sure enough it did. This was worst as I felt the bed shift as Natasha sat on the side of it, looking at me from her spot.

"I went through this too, loosing both of my parents at one time. It hurts to know that you had no cause to what happened, and that you couldn't of done anything to stop it." She explained to me aloud as I looked up at her, feeling the pain seep through my skin and set in the room.

"I could of saved them. I tried to when they sent be away when I was 15. I thought, not talking to them and being away from them completely…" I trailed off, not wanting to cry in front of Natasha, the Russian Spy.

"Severing ties does not make them safe." She said to me in a softer tone, making the pain I was feeling in my chest worse, "But sacrifices have to be made when we are meant for something this big."

"He's doing this to get to me, both physically and in my brain." I said slowly, trying to see if it was true. He wanted me to break so I can be easily taken from the Avengers and into his hands to be killed or used. I didn't know what to do then, if I should believe what I just said or not. I just missed my parents. My mother's hair and smiled, along with my father's eyes and voice. I didn't get along with them, but I loved them.

"You are stronger than you think, Clover. You're more than just brains. I know you are, and so does Clint." She said to me, having me look at her intensely when she said Clint's name. I think from hearing his name and the way I reacted made Natasha smile and I blushed slightly, seeing that she knew that I had feelings for him.

"Please don't mention what just….happened….right now to anyone." I asked her in a sheepish tone and she smiled widely at me.

"I won't. And trust me, I've worked with Cling for years, I know what looks he has for the people he likes." She said to me, making me blush even more from what she told me.

"You're one of the rare few that he can tolerate, even talk about." She said with a sly smile on her face. My face lit up from it, thinking that he would never like me, but now hearing from her that he did, in a way, made my whole day better in a sense. I was about to say something else when I saw Clint peek his head and Natasha got up from her spot.

"I'll leave you two alone to talk." She said aloud to Clint, and then looking over at me and giving me a quick wink before leaving the room. Damn her for knowing about what I was feeling, good thing she was a spy I guess as I looked from her to Clint. He walked in and pulled over a chair to sit next to me. I could still see some of the dirt on his face, showing me that he really didn't clean up after we got back from the building.

"How are you?" He asked me in a low tone, his usual tone. I knew this side of him, trying not to show too much emotion when it came to talking to people and being around them. He was a loner, a man of work and nothing else. I knew that, but I was still thinking about him.

"Much better." I replied back to him in a regular tone of voice, though I tried to hide the smile I wanted to use, "Thank you for saving me back there."

"I actually wanted to thank you." He said to me, hunched over slightly and resting his elbows on his legs as he looked at me. This made me raise a eyebrow at him with confusion, Why would be thank me?

"Why would you do that?" I asked him in wonder and disbelief. He smiled slightly and rubbed the back of his head with his fingers.

"You knew about the bomb on the computer. If you didn't we both would of been hurt, or even worse. And you did save me from a couple of those guys with your gun." He explained to me, having me smile widely at him from hearing him tell me these things. It made me feel a bit better about myself, knowing that I could save people from being hurt or killed, but not my parents. That was still killing me on the inside.

"I wish I could of saved my parents." I said in a murmur, not knowing that I said that out loud. Clint still kept his eyes on me the whole time and never said a word.

"I wish that sometimes too when I'm on missions and people need to be saved, but some things are out of our control." he said in a simple tone to me.

"That's not a option for a person who's been wired to always be in control." I countered back at him.

"I've been wired for control, yet I find myself out of control every once in awhile." He said back to me, making me think of how he think of these things, being a solider and assassin. He must of had to go through the same things I only went through once, and plenty of times in his life. I then suddenly realized why he acted the way he did, with determination and sternness in his eyes and voice: He wanted control s much as I did but had to deal with the control that could be taken from him in an instant.

"Thank you." I replied to him, knowing that he could of chosen not to talk to me or even look at me since he was only assigned to protect me on the team. He looked at me with a small smile on his face, and then I understood he wanted to talk to me.

"You're welcome." he merely replied to me and I smiled back at him. I shifted in my bed and squinted in pain from the bruise in the stomach that he gave me days before in our sparing but it was worse from the bomb explosion. Clint looked at me with concern and placed his hand on my arm, hoping to calm me down.

"Easy, Clover. Keep moving and you're gonna make it worse. That was from me, wasn't it?" He asked me in a worried tone, pointing to my stomach and I looked at him with soft eyes. I nodded and he sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"I didn't think I was that bad when it came to a kick." He said aloud, but then smiled and moved the collar from his neck and I saw a big bruise the size of a baseball on his neck.

"Was that from today?" I asked him aloud, wanting to reach out and feel if it was real.

"No, that was from you when we fought." He replied to me and I had a shocked look on my face. He grinned and hid the bruise again, "Stark saw it and started making fun of me for it."

"Sorry about that, forgot I kicked you there." I said to him in almost a grin as he shrugged and leaned back in his chair, making me tilt my head at him.

"The worst one that I ever got was when I was 28, went on this mission in Russia and got in a fight with another assassin." Clint explained to me, lifting up some of his shirt to show me a scar rolling up around his rib and making me look at it in awe. But it honestly wasn't the fact that he had his shirt up to show me his chest, well some of it really.

"Mine was when I first started in Haven. I had to spare with one of the heads in my department and he gave me the worst scar behind my ear." I explained to him, making me laugh on the inside on how we were swamping scar stories like children. I moved my hair away from the scar, which curved around my ear like a hook. He looked from his spot on the chair, his eyes looking with fascination and I knew our friendship just got a bit better. He was not longer just my protector, he was someone I can trust in this crazy situation and know that I can be just as messed up as him. We were friends now.

All from the conversation on scars.


	7. Late Night Work

Over the next week or so I got better from the bruises and scrapes in Germany. We finally got Schmit's attention and from there on out we had to keep our head down from anything happening to us. I kept looking for him around South America, but no such luck as much as I wanted to find him. But I knew others were hacking with me on the Helicarrier, so I wasn't flying solo on the mission. I wanted to find him more than before since he did kill my parents to find me, and I was going to let him find me if he wanted to. But as soon as he found me, I was going to find a may to kill him once in for all.

I got to know Clint more as got to train together every once in awhile and help each other out in research. I owed him more time as a friend since he did save my life. The two of us would talk about how we were trained in our respected bureaus. It was good to get to know him as more than a friend. He liked being alone when it came to going on missions, up until he joined the Avengers and that made him open up a bit more. That and Natasha, whom he's known for years and has been on missions on. They were good friends, helping each other and were a deadly combination.

I loved helping Stark and Bruce with their research on Schmit and seeing what they can do themselves. Natasha was willing to help me with some skills in fighting, showing me some moves and helping me with blocking since the only time I did fight my blocking was horrid. I loved talking to Thor, just hearing his stories of wars he's been in and what he loved about fighting, and also hearing about Jane and his love for her. It made me think if I was ever going to get some of love like that. Steve was more of the leader of the group, but he was none the less kind to me as I asked him about his old life back in the 40's. He was willing to tell me, and I knew he was kind of sad about it.

I started to think of these people of my family, knowing more about them and hear of their stories and how they came to this part of their lives. I was glad that I was brought here, even though the reason was rather scary. They accepted me, faults and all, and I never felt that before with anyone else, especially with Clint.

Especially with him.

It wasn't until a late one night when I was working on my computer and I knew everyone else went off to bed. I was wearing my regular street clothes: jeans with sneakers, a v neck shirt and my hair up in a french braided ponytail. I didn't mind being up so late when I looked down at the ring that was still on my finger. I stopped typing and looked down at it, seeing it glisten in the light and I felt a wave of sadness wave over me. My mother's face was in my head, seeing her smile at me and making me feel like she was forever gone and I couldn't bring her back. I also thought of my father and how he would hold me when I was a little girl.

There was never a moment, in the past or when I was younger and still away from them, that I thought of my parents so much to move me to tears. it was all different now that they were gone, killed by someone who had no right to, and knowing that I could not bring them back. It was a new pain that I felt, no longer the pain of rejection from them, but the pain of their absence.

I walked out of the lab and over to one of the wide windows that was over looking the night sky, seeing so many stars hanging high in the sky and making me feel so plain and in significant. I thought I was getting better with the loss, but I was getting worse. I sat down in front of the window Indian style and just stared out into the sky, thinking of what I was doing there for a minute or two and what we were about to do. We were so close to finding Schmit and getting him turned in, putting our lives in danger and trying to stay together as a team.

"I never took you as a late owl." I heard next to me and I looked, seeing Steve looking down at me from his spot. He smiled at me and I smiled back, seeing him sit down next to me and look up at the sky. I felt the peacefulness of the night when I was sitting with him, Steve had a good sense of calmness around him.

"A lot of things are on my mind." I merely replied to him, seeing him nod his head. We were silent once more, looking up at the sky and I smiled, loving how the clouds hardly covered the stars that I saw.

"So, you seem like you miss someone." Steve said aloud, making me snort a bit and looked over at him.

"How can you tell?" I asked him in a soft tone. He smiled and shrugged.

"I've used that face before myself." he said aloud to me, looking down at me a bit and having a warm smile on his face. I looked back out in front of me and sighed slightly, going back to my previous thought.

"Have you ever felt out of place, wherever you went?" I asked him in almost a coy tone.

"Of course, and it's not different here. Since I'm the only one from the 1940's and I look like this." he said, having me look over at him and see him gesture to himself, "It's typical for me. But I think in your case, You feel it when it comes to what you can do."

"I don't feel like I can contribute a whole lot here, that's all. I mean, I can hack and I know how, but other than that I don't know what I'm good for." I said in a shrug and I saw him look at me with intense eyes.

"You're a wonderful woman, Clover. You have more than just your brains, and we can all see that here. I don't know about you, but I see you as a true member of this team of ours." He explained to me, making me sigh a bit since I did hear this before.

"How?" I asked him in a bit of disbelief.

"Well for one you know how to fight, better and with more skill than some of us. Plus you are willing to help us when we need it, though some of us are tops tub born to admit it." Steve explained to me some more, "Fury chose you for this team because he knew you would be great, far beyond great." I smiled then, thinking of how great of a person Steve was to build me up when I needed it. I then saw something in the distance of the Helicarrier, flying over the stars and towards something to our left.

"What is it?" I heard next to me as I got up from my spot, standing straight and looking to see where I object went to. But I saw nothing else, it might of disappeared. Steve got up as well and looked over at me to see what was going on. I looked back at him and shook my head.

"Nothing, I thought I saw-" I started, but there was a loud explosion and the entire carrier shook like a violent earthquake. I grabbed the bars in front of me as did Steve and we both waited for the shaking to stop. As soon as it did, about 5 seconds later, we heard the alarms going off and we immediately ran to the central area of the carrier. As we turned a corner we saw Natasha and Bruce running out of their rooms as well and we ran as fast as we could to the central area.

"What was that?" I heard Bruce ask aloud as we ran.

"Explosion in the left area." Natasha said aloud as we ran and we saw a bunch of the soldiers running. We stopped in out tracks as we saw new soldiers coming through the main doors. They were dressed like the men from Germany, but they had a leader in front of them who looked very scary and thin.

"Find it." He said aloud as they soldier started to spread out. I instantly knew what they were after: my computer. It had all that I stole from them and much more, if they find it then we give them a head start to the mission at hand. It was my top mission to not have them take it from us. Our soldiers started fighting them as I saw Steve running over to fight them.

"I have these guys, get the others." He said behind him as he ran over to start fighting the soldiers. Bruce and I ran back to the lab as Natasha was fighting off two soldiers that approached her. WE ran as fast as we could and I saw my backpack with my computer in it. I knew that's what they wanted. I skidded to a fault and went inside, seeing Bruce follow me and I got my backpack on with my shotgun in hand.

"They can't take my computer, it has what they want." I said to him as he looked out to see if we were being followed. He looked back at me as I cocked my gun and we both walked out of the hallway.

"Let's find Thor and Stark." Bruce said to me and I nodded, but I saw another solider running over to us and I threw up my gone at him, shooting him in his tracks. He fell as three more ran after us.

"Go find them! I'll get ride of these guys!" I said to him as he ran to the right and I ran down the hall, knowing that the other three would follow me. I kept running, feeling the weight of the shotgun in my hand and the backpack on my back, knowing that it was what they wanted. I threw my hoodie over my head and saw one of the doors in the hallway slowly closing in front of me. I looked behind me and threw out my gun, shooting at another one and then at one of the side pipes on the wall to throw up a distraction. As they slowed down from the sparks and explosions, I slide underneath the door before it could close completely, feeling more like a ninja.

I came back up on my feet in time to see two soldiers in front of me, I swung my shotgun at one, knocking him out with a blow to the head and ducking from the other at the same time. He tried to shot, but I dodged him, grabbed his shooting arm and kicked it high, making it drop the gun in pain and hit him with my shotgun. Both of the men were out cold on the floor as I got up slowly and started to run again towards the lower parts of the carrier where I can hide the backpack without anyone finding it.

I turned the corner and was knocked on my side from a soldier, who looked down at me with a tilt of his head. Before he got down to punch me I ducked from his punch, grabbed his arm and punched his elbow, seeing him grunt in pain as I shot up and punched him in the chest. This was sparing all over again, but this time I was aiming to either knock him out or kill him. We started moving whistle sparing towards one of the railings and he threw me over with his hand around my neck, making me hit some pipes whilst falling a story or two to the pipe rooms of the carrier. I threw off my backpack and slide it across the floor underneath one of the machines, knowing it was safe before I was slammed to the ground by a punch to the head. I yelled out as he grabbed me and threw me against the wall, having me dodge a punch me was throwing and kick him in the stomach, having him grunt over and loosen his grip. I ran as fast as I could, though I felt pain all over and needed to get out of here. Where was everyone else? Were they okay? Where was Clint?

I felt a pipe hit over my back and I fell to the floor in pain, screaming out and hitting the floor in a heap. My back was on fire as I saw the solder's reflection in the floor, looking down over me with the pipe in his hand. I started to crawl, hoping that I can somehow get out go there. But before he could hit me with the pipe and put an end to my misery, I heard a loud roar that made me squint from the noise and the ground shaking from his voice. I saw a pair of green feet, far bigger than mine and as made as a computer machine standing in front of me, having me look up in horror. There was a green being, larger than anything I have ever seen when it came to human beings. But it wasn't human, though he had a face and arms and legs. His arms, clenched with veins popping out from his green skinned body and I saw his face. Filled with rage and anger and piercing green eyes and dark hair. I had no clue where this thing came from, or why it washer, but I then knew who it was as he roared once more at the soldier.

Bruce Banner.

He swiped at the soldier with one arm, having the soldier fly through the air and I could hear the bones being crushed. I threw my arms around my head to protect myself as Bruce roared once more and looked down at me. I looked up at him, seeing no long the ultimate rage he had on his face, but a little bit of softness in his eyes and face. There was no longer rage, but safeness in his eyes.

"Bruce?" I asked aloud in a shaky tone, seeing him step away from me to give me room. As she stepped, the ground shook like a little earthquake hiccup. He then crouched down to look at me close, and I knew it was him. It was in his eyes as he placed his hand in front of me, silently asking me if he can help me get up. I placed my whole hand on his thumb, since it was that big and I got myself up slowly. I cracked my back, feeling the pain soar through my back as I stood up completely to see him give me a small smile on his big face and big form.

"Thank you." I said to him and I saw him smile widely at me. I then walked over to the machine that was hiding my backpack, pulling it out and checking for damages. It was in fine condition as I walked back over to Bruce, or as the others called him, The Hulk.

* * *

I walked down the hallway in a fast pace, almost limping and trying to figure out what just happened and trying to not break my back. The Hulk disappeared after I thanked him and I knew he wanted to calm down, he should. As I approached the main center, I saw the group gathered together and looking over at me, relief was on their faces. They all looked like they went through a beating, so I felt I belonged being dabbed with blood and a bit of bruises. I smiled weakly at them, limping over.

"What happened?" I asked aloud, out of breath as I saw Clint walk over to me in a brisk pace. Before I could even say hi to him, seeing the look of concern on his that was more than I have ever seen made my heart break. He threw his arms around me gently and gave me a hug, making me go into shock as to what was happening. He was hugging me, Clint of all people. My heart was soaring from inside my chest and I thought I could scream in joy, but then it was mostly in pain. I was frozen for a second, but I hugged him back gently and smiled slightly. He squeezed me slightly in his hug, making me hiss and he pulled back immediately.

"I'm sorry." he said in a rushed tone, have me breathe in deeply and nod my head, "I thought...something happened...to you." I could tell he was trying to get back to his normal composure in front of the group, that was staring at us. I saw Natasha smirk over his shoulder and Tony just shake his head, Thor grinning from ear to ear and Steve trying to look in another direction, but he was smiling anyways.

"It's fine, not everyday I get a pipe to the back. Bruce saved me though." I explained to me, seeing him look at my back for a second, "But I'm okay, it's fine really."

"Where is the big guys anyway?" Tony asked aloud, rubbing his temples and looking per to Fury, "What did they want?"

"They wanted to get their hands on Clover here and take her with them." Fury said aloud to all of us as I walked over to the group with the help of Clint next to me.

"So they bring the entire army to come and get me?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow. It didn't make sense, why send the whole arm to come and get me, only one person. Something didn't feel right in this whole situation and I wanted to know why. The more we got into this situation, the more wanted to know what was really going on and how to stop this from getting any worse. I almost got killed from these guys and almost tasted death, and this was only the beginning.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Hey guys! Thanks for the love on this story. Please forgive me if I make a error or two, I'm no English Major! Let me know how I'm doing with a review!

I wanted to let you guys know two things:

1) Clover's backpack in chapter 5 really came from a hooded backpack from Puma. Look it up! I would paste the link on here but they wont let me

2) I had a epic song going through my head whilst Clint and Clover were running around and being epic in Chapter 5. It's called Container Park by the Chemical Brothers (from the Hanna Soundtrack). I dare you to listen and read Chapter 5 at the same time and feel the epicness as I do!

Once again, thanks for reading! Im on summer vacation at the moment so I have nothing to do but write! You are are awesome with your positive reviews


	8. Clint's POV: View From The Nest

I've been on so many missions that I forget the exact number. I've seen so many places and met so many people, who I had to kill in the end. I was never one for the typical soldier job. I had precision, I had speed, I had the knack to kill without anything to hold me back. It wasn't a typical life, but when was I ever typical. I was a assassin, one of the best in the world. I knew how to get the job done and get it right. That's how I was wired.

I never liked working with people, being around them. It was chaotic, hearing people chatter about knowing what they are doing. It was annoying as hell, not to mention a waste of my time. I liked being alone, hearing my own thought and getting things down at my pace. Being in my nest and watching them below me. It was better from, to see from above and not from their place. It was simple: get in and get out. I never liked things changing, except for the scenery and the weapons. But I would never give up my bow and arrow for anything, it was a part of me now.

Natasha is the only one in this group that knows me, I mean really knows me. We were on missions so many times together, helping each other out of situations and getting things done together as a team. But meeting her as the person I had to kill, that was a odd way of booming her friend and comrad. She knew how I worked, who I can trust and not trust. For awhile, she was one of the rare few that can be trusted. Well, Fury as well when he hired me on to work for him in S.H.I.E.L.D. He saw potential in me, even when I didn't.

I was a simple man who nothing really there to shake me up, making take a step back and think about what was really going on. Especially when it came to women. I never had the time to look at girls like that, settle down with one and have a family. That was foreign to me, too foreign for me to think about. I never thought of myself as a good enough guy for a girl: being isolated for my own reasons and not being around people. Girls were out of the picture for me, love was overall not an option. Because after a creation amount if killings, missions and almost deaths, I was no longer wanting to place my emotions on the line for another person.

Up to the point where I met Clover.

After the Manhattan incident, even after joining the Avengers and being saved by Lokki who had me under his command for a certain amount of time, things change in a man after those kind of things happen, I felt things go through me that has never surfaced before; the meaning of being on a team and looking out for others was a new concept for me. I had to think outside my own head, outside my own boundaries and get things done for the sake of the team. I was never one for change, but this was something I can get used to. With the help of Natasha and her willingness to put up with my stubbornness for perfecting and need for isolation.

Then Clover came into the picture. Her name fitted her because of auburn hair and Irish eyes. But her real name, Emily, that made her sound even more like a woman than any other name should. She was something that came completely into the picture and out of blue without a warning. All I knew from her, coming from Fury and his file on her, was that she's a hacker and the best one for her age. It made me think of how smart this girl was, breaking the normal for other hackers since the ones I met were very comfortable behind closed doors and away from the world. Not her, she was opposite. She loved people, being around them and hearing their lives for the first time. It was bad enough that she was attractive to me, but I never had to deal with that kind of thing before. She was the first girl to ever turn my head and look for a mere moment or more. I had no idea why this was happening to me, and to make it worse I was being teased by the team who saw how I looked at her and a small smile on my lips. I never smile, and I asked Natasha when I ever smiled. She would only reply, "Girls see it, and you have it bad."

It? What is _it_?

The more I saw her on Helicarrier, working on her computer and talking to the others using her skills, the more I was interested in her and wanting to learn from her. It was bad enough I had to be her protector, making sure she was kept alive and not killed by Schmit who wanted her brains. I took it willingly, knowing that it was not part of my assassin background, but since when was I ever going to go back to my old job. Sure enough, little by little, I liked being around her and hearing her voice.

I didn't know if it was her smile that caught me off guard, the kind of smile that made me think back to when things were simple and joyful. It might of been her long auburn hair, the way she puts it in a french braid when she works on her computer or when its down and around her shoulders when she's smiling. Her brain might have something to do with it, having me think of intelligence as more than just a sore thing to have. Something about her was reeling me in little by little, and I didn't mind talking to her at all. In fact I started to enjoy it, hearing her story and telling her mine. A person with such joy as Clover going through her parents death and training in the French Bureau made me think of her as more than just a soldier.

She had a soul, something I thought I would never have.

I know I have a soul, it's fairly common thing to hear when you're growing up in a broken home. However, her soul was raw, vibrant, determined, and it made me feel vulnerable when she would talk to me. No one has ever done that to before. I hated it, I want my old life back where things made sense. Who was she to shake things up in my life? But I liked it. She was only 25 for god's sake, and I was nearly 30. It was crazy, beyond crazy for me to think like that.

I liked her.

The first time I knew I had genuine feelings for her was when we started sparing with each other. I egged it on, thinking that it was harmless since I've done it to others before. it was a sense of wanting to see if she could really fight, in which she can. She left me some good bruises and scrapes that blew my mind away, but I knew I pushed it too far when she walked out of the room. Natasha knelt over and helped me up, looking at me the same look I would get every once in awhile when I know I had to fix something. I merely node my head at her, standing up straight and ruffling my hair. "I know I know, I'll talk to her." I said, not wanting to have the same look on Natahsh's face again being thrown in my face. From that moment on I knew I hated the fact that I did hurt her, I made something deep inside of her some out that she was trying to bury inside for as long as she could. She wanted control, something I could relate to. I wanted control in my life, but she was making my life spin out of control.

How odd was that.

I never concerned myself with others when it came to a missions, not to the point of almost having genuine feelings for them. If they were working with me, they must know how to take care of themselves, so what was the point of worrying all the time for them? But this time, working with Clover and almost seeing her get serially hurt from the incident in Germany, that first wave of worry I ever felt was washing over me and making me panic. I didn't know why I was worrying of her, but something inside of me wanted to more than just protect her, maybe just shield her form everything harsh and miserable in the world. She was too good of a person to have horrid things happen to her. It might of been then, after Germany and talking to her more about old missions and places I've gone to, is when my genuine feelings of more than friends came through into my brain and made me feel like everything was right with her around. I wanted to be near her constantly, hear her voice which reminded me of warmth and less pressure, and the touch of her skin to bring me back to reality.

For the firs time in awhile, I hugged her. Hugging in general never happens to me, I never want to be too close to people. But with Clover, after being attack on the Hleicarrier and not knowing where she was for what seemed like hours on end, it was hell for me. So this is what it feels like to be in love, or close to love. This never happened to me before, and it was beyond scary. But seeing her, alive and somewhat in tack, I couldn't help but hug her. Hug her for the fact that she was still breathing, hug her for the fact that we were all safe.

Hug her to hide what I truly wanted to do.

She shook up my life, all that I thought was good she made better. Clove was making things more complicated, but in a good way. I was no longer a man of isolation, nor was I a man who wanted to be alone. She fixed that for me, along with the Avengers. Being on this team made me realize how valuable my life was, and how ready I an simply waste it. My life did change.

It change because of Clover.


	9. Too Close

It's been a day since the attack on the Helicarrier and I was in my lab, looking out at the view I had and seeing the solider at work. We were so close to find Schmit and stopping him. I was trying to get my head back in the game, but as I tried to do that my thoughts went back to Clint and him hugging me the night before. I tried to get it out of my head, but something about him holding me and feeling his rough skin against my soft skin. It was too much for me to handle, and I wished I never thought of him like that. Why couldn't he be like Bruce, or Steve for that matter. Just a normal man I worked with? But no, there was something about him and drew me closer to him. I hated it.

Absolutely hated it.

I heard the door opening behind me and I saw Bruce walk in, smiling at me as he took off his glasses. I smiled back at him, thinking back to when he saved me from almost being killed. I never saw him as a man of violence, but that must be because he never wanted to have the "big guy" come out to play. I guess I was the exception for him to come out in order for me to not die. Bruce walked over to stand next to me, having his usual look on his face, filled with knowledge and truth.

"I..uh….wanted to come in and explain what happened the last the we both were in the same room." He said to me, having me hold up a hand to him to stop him.

"It's fine, Bruce. I understand." I said to him, seeing him nod his head, "I never got the chance for thanking you, for saving my life."

"It's safe to say we look out for each other here." he explained to me, sitting on the spare stool and folding his hands on his lap, "I was never one for violence at all. But there might be a exception when someone threats a friend of mine." I felt a wave of happiness go through me since he considered me a friend. I knew he was a friend, seeing the sense of protection in his eyes.

"Looks like I owe you." I said in a smirk and he shook his head.

"Consider this neutral since you did help me with my computer." he said aloud, making me smile widely at him from the memory. I looked from him over to my view, seeing up in the rafters Clint in his nest, sitting alone and I only stared at him for a moment or two. The more I looked at him from afar, no matter where I was or who I was with, the more I wanted to be closer to him and breathe him in. Man I needed a good shake to knock this off. I then heard something going off on my phone and I clicked it to go on speaker.

"Clover here." I said aloud.

"We found Schmit." I heard Fury said over the phone, this making Bruce hop off his stool and the both of us looked at phone with intensity, "He's in San Francisco. There are some files that I need you find and interpret for us."

"I'm on it." I replied into the speaker phone. I clicked it off as Bruce walked over to the door.

"I'm going to find Stark and see if we can figure out a plan once we get there." Bruce explained to me, having me looking back at him with a thumbs up and he smiled, walking out. I went back to work on my computer, making me go into the San Francisco area and turn up the music I was listening to, the kind of music that helps me when I track. While Mutemath's _Odd Soul _ was blaring in the lab and as I was hacking away, I looked up once more and saw that he was no longer there in his nest. I sighed and looked back down, pausing at my work and rubbing my eyes. I knew I had it bad for Hawkeye at that moment, whether it was a deep connection to him or just a school girl crush.

I had it bad.

* * *

I was in the workout room by myself, knowing that I needed to take a break from hacking and some physical stuff wouldn't hurt too much. I looked around the room at the weapons that were there. The typical ones were guns and a few knives, I assumed those were for Natasha. Next were the wights, maybe for the Captain and Thor? Though I think they wouldn't need to use those. But something else caught my eye: a bow and arrow. I knew they weren't Clint's, he had his own that was complex and filled with technology. This one was a basic set, having me walk over and pick it up from my spot. I felt the weight of the bow and arrow in my hands, taking one arrow and hooking it to the bow and taking aim at the target on the other end of the room. Now when it comes to the bow and arrow, I've used it once or twice. But thank goodness I'm a fast learner, and genus I guess.

I released, seeing the arrow miss the bulls eye slightly in the yellow. I cursed under my breath and drew another arrow from my stack and aimed again. I released and hit slightly in the yellow on the other side of the bulls eye. I placed my bow down, thinking of how I can make it better when it came to aim.

"Your elbow's too high." I heard behind me, making me turn and see Clint standing there. Just seeing him made me want to smile so widely but I tried to hide it. My heart was beating fast as he walked over, the small smile on his face that he would hardly show to anyone.

"When your arm is too high, you loose your aim to the left." he explained to me, taking the bow from my gently and having our hands touch gently with a mere moment. I gasped silently as he drew a arrow and aimed at the target, making me only stare at his face. I never saw how he looked when he shoot, not up close before. He was so serious, yet so comfortable when he released and hit the bulls eye. It was as if he was meant to shoot an arrow. Clint had peace in his face when he shot, something that I hardly saw in him.

He looked back at me and offered the bow silently at me. Gently, I took it from his open hand and drew a arrow from the pile, aiming for the shot and holding it there for a moment. I then felt his hand on my elbow, pushing it down slightly and his other hand on my waist, as if he was holding he gently. Even though I was holding a weapon, and he was correcting as any teacher should, I felt utterly safe in his presence. Was it the way his hand on my waist, holding me like he was protecting me? Or that his face was close to him I can breathe him in. I lost my breath for a moment, loosing my sight in his grasp on me as I got it back and released. I smiled, seeing it hit the bulls eye next to his arrow.

I had the bow go down, still holding it with both of my hands as I looked over at Clint, seeing him smile at him and still holding my elbow and waist in his hands. I didn't want to move, nor did I want him to move. It was a moment that I felt so safe, so warm, and so free for once in my life of a hacker: in the arms of a assassin. He was silent as well, still having a small smile on his face. Just his smile made me loose my train of thought.

"Thanks." I merely replied in a soft tone since we were so close to one another. He said nothing as he looked down at the bow I was holding, having me do the same.

"You really are a genus." he said to me, his voice as soft as mine. I blushed form my spot as he moved away from me spot, loosing contact with me and making me instantly miss him. I placed the bow on the floor gently as I saw him shift his weight from one foot to another.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked me in a curious tone and I shrugged, moving my hair from my eyes.

"Just wanting to step away from the computer for a bit." I replied back to him and seeing him nod his head. I sat down on the bench.

"Did Fury tell you about San Francisco?" I asked him as he sat next to me and nodded his head.

"Yeah he just told me before I came in here." He replied, then going quiet in his spot and I looked at him with my head tilted to the side. He was in deep thought about something.

"What?" I asked him in a curious tone. He looked up from looking at his feet and stared at the wall opposite of us.

"Last time we were doing something this big, the guy we were after, Lokki, put me under some kind of…..spell. Making me work for him." He explained to me, making my eyes go wide in shock. I knew Lokki, from Thor's stories and what happened last time. But I never knew that new information about Clint. To try and picture him under some kind if spell in the hands of an enemy was frightening to me, making me feel horrible for Clint as he continued to talk.

"I don't know if this Schmit guy is the same guy as Lokki, but when I was working for that guy, I felt like all of my control was gone. I couldn't anything the I wanted, it was all up to him. I saw things….did things…." he fell silent then, having me see that there was a nerve hit from his memories. It must of been hell for him, not knowing what to do and not being able to do it. He lost his control, the one thing I knew he wanted more than anything. Silently I placed my hand on the top of his, still staring at him and seeing the intensity in his eyes.

"What happened with Lokki and you was not your fault. You did not see that coming." I said to him.

"In which I should of." He muttered.

"No, no one would of seen that coming, even someone as brilliant as you." I reassured him, squeezing his hand in mine, "You cannot look back at that moment and let that be seen the victor to what you will do in your future. I know how strong you are, and the strongest have limits. But with that comes the reassurance of not going down the same road again." He looked over at me, letting me smile widely at him, hoping to show that I was right and that he was beyond good as a solider and person.

"I don't like not having control." He replied to me in merely a shrug.

"You and me both." I said back to him, seeing a small smile on his face and making me smirk at him, "I know you can do this." I knew it in my heart that he could. He was a soldier, a great one, not to mention a great assassin. But the one thing I knew he had that gave me reassurance, was his drive for success and his drive for not failing. I felt him the my hand in his gently, not moving the rest of his body and keeping his eyes on me. I felt a chill go down my spine when he took my hand in his, making me want to keep my hand there and never let it go. He was slowly becoming my anchor in this changing world, and I needed it.

"Maybe after this is all over, I can take you out to dinner?" He asked me, while I was still in my own world and I snapped out of it, looking over at him with a small surprised look on my face. Did he just ask me out on a date? I thought of it not being real, since when did he ever like me like that? I must be very blind and blunt or not seeing it, but since when was I good with signals since I never really had to deal with this before.

"You…wanna take me out?" I asked him in a sheepish tone, seeing a bigger smile on his face as he cleared his throat, looking rather nervous about it.

"Yeah, well I was going to ask you last night, but since we almost got killed from the explosion, I'd thought that was a bad time." He said to me, making me laugh in my spot and look down at our joined hands. I never thought I would get to this point with Clint, someone whom I thought wanted to be isolated alone. But getting to know him more and more made me believe that he was a good person, beyond good. I felt my heart bursting almost to the point of going out of my mouth for him to see, but I smiled widely and looked down at our joined hands. Somehow I thought they looked perfect together, fitting like a puzzle piece or a hacking system code that was perfect.

"I would love to."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Let me know how I am doing with a nice review! I wanted to give them a little bit more tension before they did something drastic with their relationship! Thanks for reading!


	10. Operation Frisco

I walked through the streets of San Francisco with Steve and Tony behind me the whole time, the three of us looking rather normal looking and trying to blend into the crowd. Before the mission I was supplied with plenty of new gadget and guns, thanks to the handy work of my hacking and computer technology I made modifications to the guns I had stowed in my backpack. Tony helped me with some of the modifications because of his field in weaponry, making me glad we were friends. It was a foggy day in the bay city, seeing nothing really big happening in the city near our part of town, but we were near the middle of the city towards the Transamerica Pyramid. It was the taller building in the area, and with that came the opportunity to hack into their computers and find Schmit. Steve wanted Schmit to himself, having me worry about him and wonder why he would want that. BUt I didn't want to pry, Tony volunteering that he would come along only for the sake of getting some action with the two of us. Clint was going to be watching from a nearby building, making sure we won't be followed to ambushed. I was thankful for him, and hoping deep inside that we would get this over with so we can go out together. Being the girl that I was, I was going back to that moment every once in awhile in my head and milling widely. But that wasn't good for now, we had a mission.

The plan was to find where he was within the city using the land computers and finding him on the radar, and later getting to him in time before he could inflict any damage on people. Natasha was going to watching from the ground with Bruce and Thor was left with Fury in one of the nearby planes in case of a extra man was needed. The three of us entered the building and headed for the elevator, seeing hardly anyone there but some security guards who smiled at us as we walked through. When we got into the elevator, Steve pressed the button and I heard Tony sigh behind me.

"There goes my part of the plan." he said in a sigh and I smirk, seeing Steve smile in the reflection.

"Listen up team." I heard in my earpiece as I rearranged the backpack I had on.

"There's a city wide concert going on near Pier 39, citizen count up in the thousands. We need to assume he'll strike there." I heard Fury explain to me as we reached up higher and higher into the building.

"Clover, as soon as you find him, send the feed back to us using your phone. Tony, get access into the system feed Schmit has and shut it down/ Steve, make sure nothing disturbs them both." Fury explained to us as I saw us reach the floor we wanted.

"If he uses the weapon before we get there in time, I don't know how long it'll take us to stop the weapon in general." I explained to Fury as the doors opened and we walked out into the lobby of that floor.

"Which is why we need to find him before he does." Fury replied back to us.

"Knowing him, he'll want to strike at the rich moment with the most people." Steve said to us as we walked down the lobby and towards one of the locked rooms of the CEO. I took out my tools from my pack and hacked into the room easily since he was touched activated. The door opened and I smirk, getting up from squatting down and placing my tools back in the pack. The three of us walked into the room and I walked over to the main computer near the window. Steve looked put the window, both in the air and on the ground floor as Tony went to the second computer. As the both of us went to work, I felt the nervousness coming through me as I knew this was vital for me, more vital than before. I looked throughout the security scans and cameras on the streets to find him, near Pier 39 and the bay close by. I saw nothing at first.

"How we looking on the ground level, Natasha?" I heard on the earpiece.

"Good here, nothing too shady happening." I heard in reply from Natasha and I got into the security cameras on the streets and buildings. I started scanning, looking up and seeing Steve look out onto the city. He looked so determined to find Schmit and get him before anything else happens in the city. I worried for him, seeing how angry he was looking in his eyes.

"What do you see?" I asked him aloud, seeing him look from place to place. Tony looked up as well from his spot on the computer.

"Just everyone near Pier 39. There has to be a good 600 people there." He replied to us both, making Tony go back to work in a quicker state and I as well. I saw nothing for about a 30 seances, but then seeing someone that looked very closely like his face. I scanned in and looked a bit closer and saw that it was him. HIs face, burning in my brain and making me squirm under my own skin, made me look in horro as I saw that he was in fact near Pier 39 and close by the concert. I hooked in my phone and uploaded the info, sending it back to Helicarrier.

"Fury, he's near Pier 39 in the crowd somewhere." I said to the earpiece, seeing both Tony and Steve look up at me in what looked like horror as I looked back at him. Steve walked over and looked at the image as well, making me see some of his rage in his system.

"Guys, two birds coming your way." I heard Clint say into my ear and I looked over at Tony, seeing him long off the computer.

"I have the weapons online. Let's get out of here." He said aloud as I got my phone un hooked and placed in my pack. Before the three of us could hit the door, there was gunfire outside the building, one plane shooting in. I saw Steve throw back two desks that war connect near us, grabbing my and shoving me behind it as Tony threw down his desk and hid behind it. I covered my head as Steve covered my body with him looking up and over at Tony, seeing if he was okay.

"Stark, you still alive?" I heard him yell as the gun ire seized for a moment.

"Yeah, but the shirt's no good." He said aloud as I heard a small beeping begin to happen near him. I wanted to peer per and see what was going on, but I didn't move from underneath Steve.

"What are you doing Stark?" I asked aloud to him.

"Getting my suit to come here as fast as it's little suit can." He said in reply to me in a grunt as the shoot begun to keep shooting. I pulled out my pack from behind my back and opened it, looking through for what I was going to use it for.

"Clove, Stark, Captain! What's going on up there?" I heard Natasha ask aloud into the earpieces.

"We're in a bit of a pickle right now. Leave a message." I heard Tony reply as I got out what I needed out of the pack.

"Thor's coming to get them off your back." I heard Fury say aloud, seeing Steve look down at me.

"Not necessary, Fury." I said aloud as I held up the pistol I had in my backpack and Steve raised a eyebrow.

"You're going take that thing down with a pistol." I heard him ask aloud, hearing the fire cease on us as I smiled. I grew myself up form behind underneath Steve and behind the desk, seeing the damage in the office and then the massive plane in front of us hovering in the air. I aimed my gun at them, shooting at the belly of the plane and then pressing a button on the side of the pistol, seeing the bullet that I shot explode and standing my ground as the plane was in fire. Steve got up as well as Tony and the three of us looked in amazement.

"Never doubt a hacker with a gun." I said aloud, reloaded another bullet that I had in my pocket. As I did, I saw them shoot at us once more and then something else flying our way to the window, something red and yellow. I smiled a Tony smiled as well.

"There's my ticket out of here. See you on the ground." I heard him yell as he ran and jumped out, landing on the suit as it was flying by. I saw the both of them fly away as the plane aimed at the two of us again.

"Steve, I need you to trust me." I said to him, looking up at him and seeing a confused look on his face. he then saw what I was thinking, and a small smile on his face as we ran towards the ledge of the building. We both jumped, having me feel the wind take us as we fell down floor by floor. I aimed my pistol up at the ledge and shot, seeing the bullet become a rope with a latch and latching onto the ledge. I saw Steve grab onto my pack as I felt the ground coming towards us quickly and I pressed on the trigger, slowly it down and having us land safely on the ground. Steve released me as I cut the top with a spare knife I had in my pack, seeing the rope bounce back up from the force.

"Steve and I are on ground level. Stark's in his suit." I said in the earpiece as I looked above the both of us and saw the plane exploding some more and starting to fall with fire and metal flying everywhere. Steve grabbed my hand and we ran as fast as we could away from the falling plane and barely making it. The both of us were covered in soot and burn marks. I looked back at the wreckage and saw what was once a plane, but now just a mess of metal, fire and pain.

"Didn't want you two to get hurt too early in the game." I head Clint say in the earpiece, making me look up and saw a small speck at the rooftop of the building across the street, making me smile knowing it was him that saved us.

"I owe you." I said to him as we started to run towards Pier 39.

"You already owing me by letting me take you out." He said in the earpiece and I grinned from ear to ear whilst running with Steve. We both crossed the street as we heard the sirens coming through the area.

"Please don't make me gag." I heard Tony say in a sigh as we hid around the corner from upcoming cops going to the scene. I looked behind me and saw a fire engine going to the same area.

"Clint, hide. Authorities are coming." I said in a quiet tone, looking up at the same place and seeing the speck run from the view of the rooftop. We then started to run again, trying not to be seen from the authorities. The mood was getting even more tense as we got closer and closer to the area. I heard loud music, mostly techno, coming from the stage and seeing the people there jumping up and down to it.

"We need to a pin of Schmit and stop him before it's too late." I hear Fury say aloud to us as we bottled for Pier 39.

"If he started that machine before we can get to it and stop it ourselves, it's gonna do real damage. I need to reverse it before it goes out onto the civilians." I explained to him as we saw the groups of people closer and closer. We ran faster, getting into the crowd as they were having a good time with themselves and others. The music was getting louder and louder as we got closer and closer. I scanned the area, hoping to find something that would look like a big weapon against mankind. I was unsuccessful for a minute or two, finding nothing as I looked through the crowd.

"Captain, scan the outskirts of the crowd." I heard Fury said aloud in the earpiece and I looked behind me, seeing Steve move out of the big crowd I was in as I kept going though towards the main area. Suddenly the music stopped,a nd people stopped dancing and moving around, looking towards the stage. It gave me a chill, knowing something big was going to happen, something evil and big. It was harder since so many people were there, but then I looked above me and saw Schmit. There he was, standing in front of the crowds of people on the stage, having a small smile on his face as there were his soldiers standing near him but dressed as civilians. I knew they worked for him.

"He's on stage." I said aloud as I threw on my hoodie and walked towards the side of the stage.

"Clint, take him out. Clover, get out of there, he might set it off and you'll be in the middle of it." Fury said to me as I pushed farther and farther into the crowd, keeping my head low and not seen by him or his soldiers. I looked up every once in awhile, seeing Schmit look out onto the crowd.

"I can't take him out without hitting the weapon." I heard Clint say over the earpiece.

"Don't hit the weapon until I tell you. I can disarm it for a moment or two, then shoot it." I said in the earpiece meant for Clint.

"I come here not to destroy you, but to bring your pure happiness." He said aloud to the crowd, seeing them all stand still and look up at him with some worry in their eyes. I kept pushing, trying not to be seen as I kept thinking where was Clint in my head to take him down. _Run, please run you idiots._ I thought in my head as the crowd looked at Schmit.

"Clover, I'm telling you go get out." I heard in my ear piece. I knew that was fury once more as I got to the edge of the stage.

"Give me a few more minutes and I can stop this thing." I said to him in a whisper as I saw a solider near me. I took out a silencer gun from my pack and took out two soldiers near the entrance of the stage, getting closer to the back of the stage. I looked around from being low to the floor and I saw something big, hiding underneath a big blanket. I knew I was going to die, or seriously hurt because of what was I about to do. I knew that if I was going to do this, that I would have to sacrifice myself for the others, for the innocent people, and for mankind. It was all too much for me as a young woman to handle. I had a life to live, a long life. But that was never an option since I was placed in my field.

"Don't be afraid of me." I heard Schmit say in a accent that haunted me as he faced the crowd, having me inch closer and closer onto the stage towards the big weapon underneath the blanket. I then saw one of the solider throw the blanket away, revealing the weeping as a massive ball of energy that was harnessed into a metal platform. I looked in horror as the crowd started to get angst and Schmit was walking towards it. I inched to the side to not be seen as I went behind the weapon, looking at the panel in front of me and seeing the technology work that was seen. I started to work on it before Schmit came close to the machine. I crouched down low and hacked away as fast as I could, trying to buy it some more time. As soon as he hit the red button, I took a step back and saw the machine fall function for a moment or two. Schmit looked confused and was filed with anger.

"_Warum nicht es arbeitend? ist!" __**Why isn't it working? **_He asked to his soldiers, who started to come around to my side of the machine. I took out my silencer and killed once more.

"Steve, get these people out of here now," I whispered harshly into my earpiece as I rose up from my crouching position and faced Schmit.

"_Geben Sie Schmit, Sie sind vorbei auf" __**Give up, Schmit. You're over. **_I said to him, seeing him eye me from my spot. I threw off my hod die and had him look at my face completely. He smiled widely at me, the same smile on the computer screen what seems life years ago. I stop amy ground, knowing the machine was on hold for the next thirty seconds as I saw him walk over to me slowly. I looked behind him and saw the soldiers start shooting at people and the rest running as fast as they could away from the pier and seeing Steve, now in his uniform, get people out.

"Emily Tresta, the little hacker who was hard to get." Schmit sneered at me and I moved away from the machine and onto the front of the stage, seeing him walk over to me.

"Clint, take the shot." I heard Natasha yell in my earpiece.

"Not with Clover there." I heard Clint argue.

"She's holding his ground for you to get him." Steve said aloud as I held out my hands in front of me to show that I wasn't going to move.

"I'm not going to let you do this to these people." I said to him in a slow tone. He smiled at me, a wicked smile that I knew was going to be bad in the end.

"If I didn't get you then, I'll get you now." He said in a grunt as he launched himself at me, making me spar with them and fight him on the stage. He was better than I though he was going to be, match better air tried to my hardest to get him away from the weapon. I had little time to get this done and get it done right. He fell to the floor after I kicked him in the stomach and I stood back up straight.

"Clint, fire at the weapon and it'll destroy it for good." I said in the ear piece, looking up at the crowd and seeing where he would be.

"I will once you get out of there." He said to me and I sighed.

"Now is not the time for control, just do it." I said to him in almost a bark. But before I could hear him say anything else back to me, I felt Schmit grab my by the neck and whirl me around, placing what looked like a hose onto my chest and make me loose my breath. He was using the weapon on me.

"This is what you get for choosing the wrong side." He sneered at me, making me close my eyes and loose my train of thought and fall to the floor.

Everything went black.


	11. Mind bend

_"Clovers down!" I heard in my earpiece, which was still attached and humming from the weapon working. I grunted in pain, feeling like it was a seizure that was going to come over me._

_"We still need to get Schimit, he's pointing it at the crowd!" I heard Bruce say in panic. I was squirming on the floor, my body twitching without my own accord. _

_"I'm getting her." I heard far off from normal voice, since my hearing was getting worse and worse. I knew that was Clint, his voice of determination and fear._

_"Hawkeye don't you dare." I heard Captain say aloud, their voices are getting farther and farther away._

_"I'm not leaving her there to die." I heard Clint scream into the earpiece as I twitched on the floor. Inside I begged him to find me._

_"You think we want to? You're not going alone." I heard Widow say aloud. From there on out, I couldn't see anything in front of me, or near me. My body was numb as if it was placed in a cold tank of water and not having any warmth. It was what was going on my brain that was killing me from the inside out. I was seeing flashes going back to when I was younger, then present. It was going back and forth, like a TV recording going backwards and forwards. This was what the weapon was meant for: making your nightmare coming back to haunt you and within time fry your brain into slavery to Schmit. He didn't get me, like he wanted, to get his hacking treasures. So instead, he was going to kill me because of it._

_Great. _

_I saw myself when I was little, my parents talking about how odd I was in front of me even though they thought I would never understand since I was too young. But I did, I knew what they were say before they said it. Why wasn't I normal? Then I flashed forward to when I was in the French Bureau of Haven at 15, working my fingers to the bone finding new things to hack and get into. All I could think about, going back and forth between memories was if I was really going to die here on the floor. My brain was slowly becoming numb, I was loosing little things that I could remember. Calculations, numbers, loopholes to get into a computer, and other things. But I can still remember significant things, my first mission in Germany, meeting the Avengers for the first time and seeing Clint smile at me. I remember him the most: our talks about missions and what we wanted to do in life, seeing him shoot a bow an arrow like he was born to do it, and when he held me in the training room whilst trying to teach. What I would give to have him hold me one more time. _

_Just one more time._

_I was slowly slipping into something I couldn't figure out. I wanted to fight to get out, but it as too strong. Whatever force was holding me was far too strong for me to fight back, and this scared me. I was slowly dying and loosing what I had left as a human being. This was not how I wanted to die, not one bit. I would like to die a old woman, knowing that I gave all I had. And it wouldn't hurt to have Clint next to me, holding my hand. _

_"Clover! Clover, wake up!" I heard my name being called, knowing that it was Iron Man, making me want to yell out for him to make it stop. But I was frozen in my own body, not being able to move and feeling like I was about to die. He said my name a few more times, making trying to shake me but I couldn't feel him as I slipped, finally slipped into what I thought was my end. My felt my body stop moving as I layer lifeless on the stage, my brain still whizzing about but not as much as before. Please, making this stop. I don't want this anymore. I tried, I tried so hard._

_"Emily. Please Emily." I heard Clint use my first name and I felt something take my hand, his hand in mine. It made me smile in my fading brain, knowing that this weapon was almost done with me. I wanted to tell him I'm sorry for not fighting, for not telling how I felt._

_To tell him I loved him._

But I heard something crash near me, a loud crash. It was something breaking next to me, and then a loud roar over my head. That roar work me back up to reality and made me take a deep breath, the noise of that roar shook my body back to its function and the numbness was gone. My brain was coming back as I got my vision again, seeing Clint over me, along with Tony in his Iron Man suit and Captain America. All three of them looking over me with worry in their eyes and on their faces, making me shoot up from my spot from the shock that shot through my body. Something shocked me, making me scream out for a second. I was frozen, sitting up in my spot on the nearly destroyed stage and holding out my hands in front of me as if to stop something from hitting me. There was no one moving around me as I tried to breathe again, It was if I was coming back from the dead, feeling tears coming down my face and thinking back to what Schmit just did to my brain. Making me relive my nightmares and having them gnaw at me from the inside out. This was worse than any physical pain that I have ever had to encounter.

"Clover?" Iron Man asked aloud after a minute, sounded a bit scared as I felt Clint take one of my stretched out hands in his rough ones, holding it gently and having me look over at him. His face was soft, filled with relief and happiness as he saw me alive.

"You're okay, you're okay now." he said to me slowly and safely, making me breathe in deeply and know hat I was safe now with them. I placed my free hand on my chest, feeling my heartbeat seeing so fast that it scared me. I looked above me and saw Bruce as the Hulk, looking down at me from his monstrous form and looking rather worried. He work me up, his roar was so strong enough to bring me back. I breathed out slowly one more time as he looked from me over to the plane that was taking off from the floor of Pier 39. I looked at the scene finally, seeing that some people were waking up from the same thing that I did, and others were running away. The pier itself was in bits and pieces, fires in separate places and rubble everywhere. It looked like a bomb hit this place and this was all that was left. I then looked back behind me and saw that the weapon was destroyed completely, looking like it took a hit from a bomb.

The Hulk roared out loud at the plane, moving away from us and jumping high super high to land on the plane before it would go too high. I saw him land on the plane and seeing it fall to the floor in a keep, hearing him roar in triumph as he pounded on the plane. Tony and Captain America got up quickly as Clint helped me up with a hand on my lower back and still holding my hand. My legs were getting back to normal once more, and I felt like I walk around from having a nasty seizure. I breathed again, a couple more breaths as the four of us looked onto the scene that was in front of us. I then looked over at Clint, seeing him smile at me and I couldn't help but big him there on the damaged stage. He hugged me back, making me feel warmth all over again. It felt safe in his arms, and I knew he felt relief from how he was hugging me back

"We need a plane down here for Clover." I heard Captain America say in his earpiece. I then panicked, feeling by back and noticing that my backpack was gone.

"My backpack…" I said aloud, thinking that he took it. But Clint moved behind me to get something from the side, coming back with my backpack and my hoodie. I sighed in relief as he clutched it in his hand.

"No need, I'll take her." I heard Tony say next to me, walking over to me in his suit. I moved away from CLint slowly and saw him nod at me, almost telling me to go with Tony. I lost my contact with him as Tony stood in front of me.

"Let's go little ginger." He said to me, holding out his metal arms. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his chest, feeling the cold metal against my hot skin and he held me close as we were launching in the air. As we flew, I saw Clint looking up at me with his blue eyes, making me smile slightly as Tony flew upwards back to the Helicarrier. I was back with the team once more.

Back from nearly dying.

* * *

I was surrounded by the Avengers Team in Bruce's lab, after he ran tests on me to make sure that I was okay. After getting us off of the ground area and away before the authorities came, we had to find out where Schmit was. We got most of the damage done on Schmit and we all came back in more piece. I was grateful for the team then, knowing that they were ally dying to get back to me and make sure I was still alive.

"He's using the machine making people their slaves." I explained to them, still remembering the pain and what I went through, "First he gets you into this coma like state and takes all your senses. It's like he's erasing your life."

"The machine is programmed to make the person a zombie in a sense." Steve added in front his spot, making me nod my head. I can still see the images in my head, making me close my eyes for a moment and take a breath.

"We found him on his own carrier near Russia in the Alps, and from what we gathered we knew that he'll strike there. San Francisco was just a test run, and since we stopped him, we have him on the run now to get it online before we stop him again." Fury explained to me as he walked over to me, having me look up from him at my spot.

"Even though you didn't follow my orders and get out of there, you did find a way to disarm the weapon from getting out onto the public to make it worse." Fury said to me, making me look at him with a small look on my face. He then looked behind me at the rest of the group.

"We head to the Alps." Fury said aloud, later walking out of the room and leaving the rest of us there in the room. I saw Natasha then smile at me, nodding at me once and leaving the room, followed by Thor and Captain. Iron man was the last to leave with Bruce by his side, leaving me with Clint standing next to me, looking over at me and having me rub my eyes. But as soon as I closed my eyes, I saw what happened to me go on in my head all over again. It was horrid, feeling the numbness under my skin as I looked over at Clint.

"What happened?' I asked him, the both of us knowing that it meant when I was out of it.

"Hulk destroyed the machine while Thor took out some of the solders along with Widow. I tried to take out Schmit, but he moved at the last minute and I got him in the arm and he ran off. Captain got the people out and Iron Man placed a homing device on his plane before he escaped." Clint replied back to me, still looking forward and away from me then, making me feel bad that I inflicted motional pain on him. I sighed and sat up completely from him and walked around a bit to get blood flow to my knees and legs.

"Looks like we need to get ready for the Alps." I said aloud, cracking my knuckles whilst pacing.

"You're not thinking…" He started from his spot.

"I have to, Clint. I'm on the team." I said to him, knowing that he was going to fight with me about what was going to happen to me.

"You were having a seizure and a mental erase on the stage floor in the middle of a war, there is no way you're going back." he said to me in a cold tone, having me look back at him. The voice he was using was of anger, but also a hint of pain.

"But I'm fine now, am I? We need to stop him before he does what he did to me to millions of people." I said to him trying to keep my voice down and not get angry with him. If he picked a bad time to be protective of me, it was now.

"You think I want to see you go through that again?" He asked me, walking towards me and having me take a step back from him, seeing the anger rise from him.

"Do you think I want to?" I asked back at him, "Look, I know the risk and I went in knowing. I got a taste of what he was going to do but it's not gonna happen again."

"How do you know that?" he asked me, his voice now from anger to desperation and hurt. I raised a eyebrow at him, a bit shocked at the emotion I was hearing in his voice and also seeing on his face.

"Clint.." I started, wanting to diminish the topic we were talking about.

"I don't want to loose you Emily!" he shouted from his spot, shaking in his spot and I could feel the hurt in his voice from the other side of the room. I never heard him shout before, and it made me think differential of him then than ever before. I saw his raw emotions for once since we met, and I was beyond it when it came to my emotions. And this was the second time he sued my name, my real name. It sounded beautiful when he said it, raw but beautiful. He sighed and looked down at his spot, having me find my voice again.

"You won't loose me." I said in a meek tone, making sure he believed that he would never loose me. I saw him look up at me with disbelief, thinking that I was going to in fact disappear. But I kept my stern look on my face, wanting to prove to him that what I was saying is in fact true: He wasn't going to loose me. I knew he lost people before, but I wasn't going to be one of them.

I went to sleep that night thinking that was worst was over, getting some rest in and feeling like I was back to normal. But the more I tried to sleep, I was thinking back to what happened to me, how I was almost dead from a simple yet complex machine. I couldn't sleep, not without reliving that moment all over again. I tried to fight it, thinking that I was better than that. But maybe Clint was right, that I wasn't ready to go back since I almost died.

I got up from my bed and cracked my neck before walking towards the door. But before I could even get to the door, I froze in my spot, standing very still before whirling my arm behind me, slamming it into a soldier's head and seeing it hit the floor. Right after, I felt a sting in my neck and I froze, numbness taking my body and I fell to the floor, slamming my head into the floor and seeing a pair of boots walking towards me before sleep took over me.

I was a goner.


	12. Thought Of The Worst

I woke up to a blinding light in my face, feeling myself being strapped down to some sort of bed, almost the same way as before in Bruce's lab. But this was different, this wasn't safe. There were things that I never saw before, the same with the scent and the feeling of the room. I was no longer safe, now I was in deep trouble. I then remembered, back on base, I was attacked in the dead of night.

Attacked and kidnapped.

I opened my eyes completely and saw myself in a room with several large machines surrounding me against the walls and humming. I saw some of them were scientific, looking at brainwaves and pulses. I cringed, looked around me some more and seeing that it was all of glass windows, so that anyone can look in. This was bad, real bad. I knew that wherever I was, it was going to be the end of me. Where were the Avengers? Where was I? I had to find out where I was, and get out as fast as I could. It made me wonder if the Avengers were going to come after me, could they? What about Clint? I prayed to God that he would.

"It looks like I didn't kill you fast enough back there." I heard next to me and I looked over, seeing none other than Schmit walking over to me, his left arm in a sling and I felt more fear going through me then ever. However, I knew I should not even show it in front of him, it would show that I'm weak, and that was something that I was not. Not even close. I saw the sling his arm was in, and inside I was glad it was Clint that did that.

"Pity for you." I replied back to him, seeing him smile and look down at his sling.

"I have your teammate to thank for this. Sadly he didn't the job completely, and I'm still here." he said aloud to me, smiling that same horrid grin on his face. I stared at him a serious stare, hoping to show that I wasn't weak at all. He started to walk around me, making me wonder what he was up to.

"Do you have any idea as to why I have you here?" He asked me, having a small smirk on his face. I squirmed in my seat, not wanting to sit too still.

"You want my intelligence for your hacking needs." I replied back to him, not wanting to be dumb and say nothing. He chuckled, nodding his head as he faced me completely now.

"You make it sound so simple." he replied to me, having me trying to keep calm in my seat. But I saw him inch closer to me as he peered into my eyes with his dark eyes, making me think of him not as human as all.

"I'm wanting more than just your intelligence, I want all you have in that brain of yours. And I saw what I can do with you, from the little weapon I used on your earlier. Apparently it worked, absorbing your brain through technology and this cube." He explained in his thick accent as he walked over to one of the machines and pointed to the middle of it. There was a cube in the middle of it, glowing with the same color and shade as the weapon in San Francisco.

"Extraordinary isn't it? Being able to absorb a person's brain without needing surgery at all. In short, my dear, I want your brain." He said to me, his voice was low and sinister as I looked at him with some horror on my face, "I've developed a way to take our all you ever had in that brain of yours: memories, facts, knowledge, and emotions. I placed them in this machine, and you turn into a vegetable. It's it wonderful? There's no need for surgery, so the mess is less of an issue."

"And you want to do this to everyone?" I asked him, trying to break off my straps that I was under.

"Not just do that, but give them something to feed off of. Once I take their brain, they'll need someone to think about, to believe in. So I'll give it to them, all that I've ever wanted in a world." he explained to me, making me cringe thinking about him stealing his brains for slavery. It was wrapped, wrong on so many levels, and it scared me to death.

"Do you honestly think that your plan will work without my team having something to do about it?" I asked him in a confident tone. He looked over at me, a small twinge of hate in his eyes as I mentioned my team to him. I knew I must of hit a nerve with him, seeing that he failed once with us on the prowl.

"I'm not afraid of a ragtag group of insignificant beings who can't live up to my power." He said to me in a sneer, having me see his true hatred to them. He them smiled, looking down at his wounded arm and then back at me.

"The next one after you to go under, is the one who did this to me." He said, walking over to the machine and turning them one, I can hear the whizzing sound of the machines buzzing and warming up. I saw two soldiers coming into the room, both standing by Schmit. He looked over at the both of them.

"Start the process. Make sure no one disturbs the operation, and I want all of her brain." He said aloud to them, walking away and out of the door. From there I saw one of the soldiers getting gloves on and a mask as the other went to the door and locked it. I knew then that if there was any hope at all, anyone that was going to get me out of there, they better start now as I heard the machine going on full mode. I waited for the pain, the numbing of my skin and the seizures to come. I also knew that this time I wash going to die for real. I wasn't going to have my memories anymore, no more being with the Avengers. No more being on crazy adventures, and no more Clint. My heart ached from that thought: no more seeing him, hearing his voice, feeling his hand near mine. It was too much for me to think about, since I was practically in love with him and I won't ever see him again. Can I fight my way through this time? Am I strong enough? I wish I told him that I loved him, something for him to know I died.

But as I waited, nothing happened. I looked up and saw something extraordinary happen. Something shot through the window of the room, making me look and see it skimmed my strap, breaking it free and hitting the main machine. The machine spurted in sparks and died, making me smile as the soldier went to see what was going as the other looked out the window to see who shot. But I knew, seeing the spike sticking out of the machine. I smiled, knowing that this wasn't my time to die, not according to my fellow Avengers. I remember seeing that same gadget of a spike in the lab back at the Helicarrier, it was made to defuse machines and make them go dead. It was smart, and I was glad it saved me. I unstrapped my other arm since my hand was free and shot up from the bed, standing completely up on the bed.

The first soldier aimed his gun at me, having me jump off the bed onto the floor before he shot, making the room explode in his bullets. I slide my leg under the second oldster, seeing him fall near the machines and I punched him out in one punch, hearing the bones in his has break as I shot up, grabbed the spike sticking through the machine and pulled it out. I threw it behind me without looking, hearing the solider gag and hit the floor within a second and I smirk, looking behind me and seeing the one person whom I didn't expect to see: Thor.

He walked through the doors and into the room, seeing me breathe heavily from my sudden attack on the soldiers and I smiled at him, seeing him look at the damage I have done while still holding his hammer.

"Looks like all I needed to do was give you leverage." He said in his beautiful tone, making me smile wider since I've miss his voice. I missed all of the Avengers.

"Thank God you came when you did. I almost got killed." I replied to him, seeing a soldier coming up behind Thor and I looked over his shoulder. He looked behind him and saw the soldier, throw out his hammer and seeing it collide into the chest of the soldier. Both the hammer and the soldier flew back and slammed into the wall, making a crushing sound of bones and metal. The Solider fell to the floor as the hammer flew back into Thor's hand. He made it seem like it was another day for him, him and his hammer.

"Where are the others?" I asked aloud moving over to stand next to him.

"Finding Schmit and stopping the machine. I volunteered to find you and bring you to safety." he said to me and I smiled, looking behind me at the machine that was going to kill me.

"We need to go and make sure Schmit does not start that machine, or else we are all screwed." I said to him as I looked back at him, seeing him nod his head, "Let's get that Bastard and end him."

"Marvelous!" He replied in a booing tone and I smiled, following him out of the room and down the hallway. I looked around me to see where I was exactly. We must be in his carrier in the Alps, hiding away from the world. I saw nothing to hint as to where we were, but I knew I could trust Thor and his way or getting in and out of places. We reached a section of four hallways running into each other and before Thor turned to go down another hallway, I looked behind me and saw three soldiers coming our way.

"Thor!" I yelled, seeing him turn and throw out his hammer. He pushed me behind him as lightning came from his hammer, hitting the soldier and having him fall to the floor in a grunt. The second soldier dodged the lightning and ducked. Then the third soldier threw out a knife at me once I moved away from Thor, making me duck and grab it from sticking it from the wall. He ran over and started sparing with me and I fought him back. Thor could handle two soldiers on his own, and I had one, which was getting rough since he took the knife out of my hand without me knowing or being prepared, slicing my neck slightly and making me kick him square in the chest. He fell back as I got up and ready for him to get up. As soon as he got up, before even raising the knife at me to strike, he stopped in his tracks and his mouth fell open. I froze in my spot, thinking something happened to him when he fell to his knees and then on his chest, with a arrow sticking out of his back. I knew that arrow, and seeing it made my heart explode when I looked up and saw him: Clint.

He walked through hallway int the middle and I saw his face, oh his face. Everything about him that I admired intensified as I saw him look over at me. He was home for me, all of him as home for me. It felt like I haven't seen him in years, beyond years really. He was holding his bow in his hand and his face gave me the notion of pure relief, that he saw heaven or something in that nature. But that look, aiming at me? I was about to say something when he dropped his bow on the floor, having me hear the metal of the bow hit the concrete floor as he walked over to me in a brisk pace, wrapped one arm around my waist and placed the other on my neck, and kissed me.

If I had any doubt of my life, where I was going and if I was worthy of anything, it flew out the window when he kissed me. Everything in me was bursting at the seams when his lips collided with mine. Everything else that was happening to us, being at Schmit's carrier in the Alps, trying to save the world of utter brain damage, and almost loosing my own life because of it, all went out the window as I felt his arm around me and his lips on me. His hold was protective, as if he was afraid I was going to be dying again and away from him. For a second I was frozen in his embrace, but I found feeling in my arms as I moved one to snake up behind his shoulder blade to pull him closer and my other hand cupped his cheek, feeling how warm his skin was. I breathed in the scent he was harboring: the smell of Old Spice and fumes from the plane, along with the faint scent of rain and nature.

The kiss was gentle yet fierce, almost as if he wanted to show everything he had for me in that kiss, and I wanted to give it back to him. All that he gave me: Safety, friendship, knowledge, faith, and above else was love. He held it there for what seemed like ages, making me feel so light in my toes and fingers that were on his face and shoulder blade. Before he could pull away I gave him a smaller kiss on the lips, feeling him tighten his grip on my lightly from that kiss and I lost contact with him on the lips.

He rested his forehead against mine, closing his eyes as he still held me and I closed mine as well. I didn't care if we were running out of time then, because it felt like we had all the time in the world holding each other. I didn't want to leave this, not now since it took me this long to kiss him. Both of his arms went around my curvy waist, holding me there and never letting me go.

"I thought of the worst" he said to me, his voice was raspy and filled with relief as I smiled, knowing that all was well now between the both of us. I could tell the way he was holding me was afraid of something happening to me. I placed both of my hands on his upper arms, feeling the muscles underneath. It was a silent way of telling him I was safe now, safe and alive.

"I've wanted to do that since Germany." He said to me, making me open my eye and see his face looking back at me, showing that what he was saying was in fact true. My heart melted for him, it melted for Hawkeye and his aim on my soul.

"As beautiful and glorious this moment is for the both of you, I believe we should depart and stop the world from destruction." Thor said in the background, having the both of us loose our moment together and look over at Thor, who smiled at us and then shrugged. I bit my lip, moving away from Clint and seeing him look down for a moment and then back up.

"Sorry about that." he said to me, almost looking like he was about to blush. I nodded my head and we were back to our normal selves, picking up the spare gun the dead soldier had on his leg, cocking it and smiling at the two men.

"Let's go." I replied, seeing Clint smile widely. He walked back to his bow and snagged it, walking back to me and taking my hand in his and the two of us following Thor down the hallway, heading towards a epic battle between good and evil and getting the world safe once more. Now I was less scared for my life.

I had a man to hold my hand every step of the way, along with my heart.


	13. Close Call

I saw nothing but firing and pain in the main carrier as we fought. FIghting solider and soldier made me think of how my life has changed. Being in this group, this group of good people who are trying to save all they know. Then there was Clint, and with that I knew I made the right choice as to being a part of the team. If I didn't, I wouldn't met him, seen who he really was and fell in love with him. That kiss moment earlier was still reeling in my head, making me feel much better about life more than ever. Now I just had to fight to make sure I stayed alive long enough to go on a date with him.

Please let it be so.

I saw all of the Avengers there, fighting off each soldier one by one and making me look around to see where everyone was. I saw all but Captain America, making me worry that something happen to him. I started looking around, fighting off a solider every once in awhile, hoping that I would run into him. I looked behind me and saw the fight was still going in the main carrier. Everyone was occupied: Thor taking down three soldiers who all had massive guns, The Hulk with at least five soldiers, Natasha had two but was getting so close as to killing them, Iron Man with at least two and Clint taking out a solider with his bow and arrow.

"Clover, we need to find the machine and shut it down!" I heard Iron man yell at me as he flew down to stand next to me. I kicked a solider who was running towards me and saw him fly to the floor.

"Where's the Captain?" I asked him, dodging a flying knife at my head and seeing Iron Man shoot at the man who was going to kill me.

"He went after Schmit, saying that it was something he had to do for himself. My guess is that wherever those two are, the machine's gonna be there too." He replied to me, having me look over at him and smile.

"Then there't no time to waste then. I have a machine to hack into." I said to him and saw him look down at me.

"You'll need insurance." He said to me, thinking that I'll need backup. I shook my head as I rammed a soldiers head into my knee cap, seeing him fall to the floor unconscious.

"I don't need insurance, I need time." I said to him, having a serious look on my faced aimed at him. He knew what I meant, I needed them to stall down here and make sure I was no disturbed.

"That we can do." He said aloud to me, making me nod my head.

"Where to?" I asked him aloud, seeing Clint run over to the two of us.

"The machine is in his chambers at the top of the carrier. The elevator will take you up." Clint explained aloud to me and I nodded my head at him, feeling the rush go through me once more.

"Right, give me time to take that thing down." I said to the both of them, "I know the Captain can handle himself, but all I need is time." Both Iron Man and Clint nodded their heads and Iron Man flew off to help The Hulk with the ones who were all over him. I felt Clint squeeze my hand, having me look over at him and see him smile slightly at me. I leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips, seeing him nod his head at me as I pulled away from him, seeing the reassurance on his face and also on mine.

"I know." He said aloud, pulling out a bow when he pulled his hand away. He drew it and aimed at a soldier coming our way, "Go." When he said that to me, he said multiple things at once without realizing it. _I know you can do this. I know you can handle yourself. I know not to worry for you. _

_I know, I love you too. _

I ran to the elevator and took out a guard with the one gun I had in hand, seeing him fall to the floor as I went inside and saw the elevator flying up into the depth of the carrier. I took in a deep breath and pushed my hair back as far away from my face as possible, knowing if I was going to do this, it had to be right this time. No slowing down, no going back, no false thoughts.

The doors opened and I walked through, having my gun ready in hand as I looked around and saw that I was in some sort of lobby. I slowly walked through and saw there were already four soldiers on the floor unconscious. I was surprised, making me think that this was going go be more than a challenge. But I heard it, behind the doors. It was Captain America fighting Schmit, and I instantly bolted for the door and opening both at the same time.

Schmit's chambers was more like a hotel lobby. The scale was larger than I though it was going to be, with a large window looking out into the Alps and I could see that there was a large snow blizzard going through the area. I saw the both of the, fighting each other above me in one of the walkways that was going over the lobby. At first it did look like Schmit, but it wasn't. Not completely. No, this person had a red face, a dark crimson face that made me think of death and blood. But I looked closer and saw that it was Schmit. I saw him fighting of Captain America, who was still surviving with his shield and strength. HIs arm was better, much better since I last saw him moment before. If it was him, then when he changed he got a big stronger too and his arm was back to normal. I looked down in front of me on the ground floor of the chambers and saw in front of the large window was the machine, the same one from San Francisco but bigger. I ran over and looked at the panel, seeing what I can do in order to get this thing to shut down.

I started hitting numbers on the panel to see if that would work, and so far so good.I worked on it some more, seeing that it was in both German and Russian at the same time with the words and commands. I worked on it some more as I heard the fighting behind me. I looked behind me, seeing Schmit being beaten down for a second by Captain America, but it was going back and forth between the two of them. I went back to work, hoping to buy more time for Captain America and get him safe from Schmit. I was just about to be done with the machine when I heard a gun go off, the bullet hitting the floor next to my foot and making me jump back in a dodge. I looked up and saw it was Schmit as Captain America was on the floor, trying to get up.

"Why don't you ever die!" Shcmit screamed out loud as I threw up my gun and shot at him, grazing his cheek and hearing him scream out in pain. Before he could shoot at me at me once more, I saw Captain American launch out his shield at Schmit, having him be launched back on the elevated walkway and the shield flying back to him. Captain American then looked down at me.

"Finish the machine!" He said aloud and I nodded my head, looking back at the machine and working on the last pieces of the machine. It was getting so close to the grind that I was determined to finish this twice as fast and twice as hard, working my fingers to the bone and pushing for success. There was no way that I was going to let this guys win, not a since chance. After a moment or two I knew something of great force was going to be needed to take this machine down in one piece. I finished the last bit and and looked back up at Captain. Schmit was still on the floor trying to get up as the Captain looked over him and then back down at me on the ground floor.

"I need your shield! Hit the machine now!" I yelled at him, seeing him grab his shield and I ran back a bit to not be hit with the shield and the reaction to the machine. He launched the shield, having me see it fly in the air with both grace and force. I saw the shield hit the machine, speaks flying and a loud noise coming out of it. I rammed my hands over my ears as I saw Schmit get up and look at his machine in ruins. He looked down at me, making me feel trapped as he was about to shoot at me when Captain America grabbed his amy and knocked the gun out of his hand. I looked back at the ruined machine, knowing that all is well now that the machine was broken and no longer going to harm anyone. It was a sigh of relief, and since I did it with my hacking and Captain's force, I knew that I did have a purpose in this God forsaken place.

As it was dying down on the machine, I looked back up and saw Schmit launching himself down from the walkway to face me. I looked up and saw Captain America struggling to get up from being beat up one too many times. Great, I had to face this guy on my own as he pulled something out of his pocket and held it in his hand. I was too occupied with his face, seeing the red and the dark sinister complexion of his face to see what he had in his hand. I finally looked down and saw a small gun in his hand, and I knew those kinds of guns only held special bullets.

"You will die this time, make my words." He said to me, pulling up the gun as I back up, looking for the gun I had in my hand but I notice I dropped it after the explosion on the machine. I wanted for him to shoot, at least taking some pain off of the edge but knowing that I foiled his big plan. But I saw someone go in front of me and take the bullet, making my heart stop as I knew who it was.

Clint.

He grunted, falling to the floor and hitting hard on the floor like a pile of bricks. I was frozen in my spot, seeing that beside him was the bow that he dropped when he took the bullet and I instantly had to think of what I was going to do. I saw Captain American hop down to the ground level and look at Clint with the same look I gave: horror. But I had to think, and think fast before I was killed. I flew to the floor new to Clint, grabbed his bow and drew out an arrow from his harness that was attached to his back. I drew and took at shot before Schmit took take another shot at me, seeing him fall to the flop with a arrow sticking out of his chest near his heart. I took in a breath, breathing out and dropping the bow next to me as I looked down at Clint.

I saw him trying to breathe was he was laying on the floor, having me scan him to see where the bullet him. I saw the hit, barely hitting his arm near his shoulder and the rest hitting his vest. I was relived and looked back down t me, seeing him trying to fight the machine work to get into his skin. I grabbed one of his hands in mine and my other hand placed it on his neck to make sure he knew that I was going to make sure he was oaky. He took a bullet for me, something I never wanted for him.

"You're okay, Clint. Just breathe, the numbness will go away in a minute." I reassured him, seeing him nod his head and grit his teeth through the experience. I knew he was still going to experience a part of what I went through in San Francisco, only because there was a fraction of the machine's science in that bullet. Whether or not the machine was on or off, the working of it was still happening. I waited for him to get through the process, seeing it work because of his eyes and his face. I missed his old face and eyes, how blue they were and how warm his face was to me. Once it was over, he took a deep breath and stroked the side of his neck with my hand, making sure he knew that I wasn't going to leave him.

"Keep him still, I'll go check and see if we're clear in here. Stay with him." Captain America said to me, having me look over at him with a look of determination.

"I'm not leaving him." I said back in reply in almost a cold tone, seeing him nod his head as he ran off to the lobby. I looked back at Clint, wondering what I can do or what I should say.

"Why did you do that?" I asked him in a shocked tone, almost shaking from what just happened with him. I was so scared for him doing that, getting himself killed for me. He took in another deep breathe and I looked back at his arm. The bullet hit his vest, but I saw the machine workings that had a tint of blue liquid, hitting the open skin wound that happened because of the bullet.

"I wasn't going to let him touch you again." He replied in his normal but shaky voice, having me help hit sit up in his spot and avoiding his arm.

"I didn't want you to do that for me." I said to him as he looked over at me, making me want to look down because of the emotion I was seeing on his face. I never wanted someone to take care of us, protect me, make sure I was oaky. I was always good on my own. But I could see this was the first time I had to let him, had to let him protect me for once. Because he needed it, he needed control. And this was his control.

"I had to." he replied back to me, making me tilt my head to the side in confusion.

"You made me sane again." He ended, making me squeeze his hand in mine and know what he meant. He was brought up in a confusion yet simple world of a assassin, and needed someone to bring him back to life. He did the same for me, bringing me a rush of adventure and a sense of warmth go through me. He got up, still holding my hand and I gave him his bow. I saw Captain America run back to us, shield and all as placed my other hand on his good arm.

"Fury's getting us out of here." He said to me and the three of us started to go back to the main carrier. I was glad it was all over as we descended down the elevator. There was nothing else to be afraid of, nothing for awhile at least. Clint still held my hand in his and I felt happy about it, though I was sore, covered in dirt, soot from the machine and other things. He finally looked over at me, a small smile on his face.

"That was a nice shot." He said, gesturing to his bow and I smiled widely, for the first time what seemed like ages. I didn't think he would notice me shooting Shcmit in the chest, but I was glad that he did.

"I had a good teacher."


	14. The Aftermath

Going back to the Helicarrier was quiet, very quiet. I was sitting in the middle of the small plane that had to carry all of us back, the rest of the team sitting with me as well. We were all thinking together in our own worlds, thinking of how the mission went and that all was well again with us. I was sitting next to Clint, the both of us in silence as we stared straight in front of us. Bruce and Tony were towards the back, talking about the machine and what they discovered in it. Natasha was towards the front with Thor and they were quiet as well. Well, Natasha was asleep, taking up three seats as she propped up against the wall and was facing us, trying to get some shut eye. Thor and Captain America were sitting silently across from Natasha, with Thor rotating his hammer in his hands with thoughts going through his head and Captain America looking off into the distance out the front window. I could feel Clint taking my hand in his, silently asking if I was okay as I looked over at him and seeing the look of deep thought. I squeezed his hand in mine, in return hearing him take a deep breath.

"I remember what he did to me." He said aloud to me, making me flashback to my own moment when he had me under his machine. I stayed silent, not wanting to ask what or how it felt. I knew, I knew from personal experience.

"I saw everything. My first mission with S.H.I.E.L.D, being a kid at the circus with my brother, my first kill." He fell silent after saying that, making me cringe inside just knowing that he had to go through that. I never wanted for him, or for anyone.

"I thought I forgotten those moments, but he brought them back. Brought them back full force." He said to me, making me think of how bad those memories must of been if he did shut them out. It made me think of the memories that I tried to hide away myself, the ones that made me want to fall to my knees in defeat. I stared straight in front of me, looking at the wall from the plane and not noticing Clint looking over at me. My memories were coming back as well, as strong as I tried to hide it from everyone else.

"Emily?" He asked me, seeing that I was too zoned out to notice him looking over at me. My thought were going back to that moment where my parents left me at the French Bureau. I still remembered their faces as I saw them leave, my mother looking behind her in the car one last time at me, then looking forward in the car as my dad drove on without looking back. I never saw them again, not knowing when they would be back for me or if I would ever hear from them again.

"I remember when my parents left me." I said aloud in a soft tone, not wanting to disturb everyone else with my sad stories. But I knew it was true, since it was one of the most painful memories that I ever had to remember over and over again, "That was the one memory I wanted to forget. But it brought it back."

"That was his doing, not yours." He said to me in reassurance, having me look over at him, seeing the seriousness in his eyes, "That machine was meant to bring out the worst in people, to bring out their darkest fears and kill them in the process." I stayed silent as he spoke about that machine, making me cringe and what I had to go through once more in my seat next to him.

"You fought that thing, I saw you do it." He said to me with confidence in his tone and in his eyes. I felt him squeeze my hand again in his, a way to make sure I was in reality with him, "That makes you one of the strongest soldiers I know." I smiled at him, seeing him smile back at me. I needed to hear that from someone that wasn't myself. He believed in me, something I needed. I rested my head on his shoulder, seeing feeling him shift a bit as he held both of my hands in his and we fell silent again for a few moments. I looked over and saw Natasha staring at the both of us, seeing me and giving me a wink before closing her eyes. Darn her for seeing what was going on between us. I smirked from my spot, feeling the peace in the plane once more.

"He did show me the moment I met you." Clint said silently, his voice was soft and nurturing for me to hear, "Seeing you for the first time, and when we fought each other. The best one, though, was when I kissed you. So I guess that wasn't too bad. It gave me something to fight for: you. " I blushed in my seat as I wrapped my other arms around his arm that was attached to his hand.

"Sshh." I replied, smiling softly as I blinked a few times, "You need your rest. You almost died today."

"I seem to recall a deal between us, me taking you out to dinner." Clint said next to me, having me nod my head on his shoulder, "Where would you like to go?"

I thought about it, blinking a few more times as I looked at the rest of the team. They were all still talking amongst themselves and resting. It was the calm after the storm, and there was nothing but peace amongst us. We fought hard, and we won because of it. This new adventure, or mission if you will, that I was about to take with Clint was beyond scary for me. I have never given my heart to someone before, not like this. I did once with my parents, and they broke it into a thousands pieces. Can I take that same risk with Clint? The man who still my heart and made me believe in myself once again?

"Anywhere Italian."

* * *

"Is this too much?" I asked Natasha aloud as I faced her in her room the night of the date. She volunteered to help get me dressed since I was no great person when it came to fashion. I hated fashion to be honest, I was more of a jeans and t shirt girl with boots with kick butt in. But for tonight, I was beyond nervous and wanted to be very pretty for once. Thankfully, as soon as we landed and go back to Helicarrier, Natasha helped me with the shopping and getting things done with my hair and makeup. It must be because she was a spy and had to be in disguises plenty of times to get tips.

I looked in the mirror in her room, seeing what I was wearing. It was a Emerald green dress that came to my knees and a loose wrap that comes in the front, black flats, silver earrings and a feather pendant around my neck. I had my hair in a fancy bun in the back, having my bangs fall in the front. I felt so out of place for a mere moment, not hearing anything from Natasha behind me. She got up from her bed and walked over to me, standing behind me and smiling at me.

"You'll take his breath away." She said to me, making me smile at her through the mirror and then looking down at my dress one more time. I turned around to face her, seeing a smile on her face.

"Thank you Natasha." I said to her, seeing her just nod her head.

"It's nothing really." She said to me, but I shook my head.

"No I mean, thanks for just being there for me since I joined the team." I said to her, seeing her smile widen slightly as she pushed some of her own hair away from her eyes.

"It's fine, truly. I was glad to help out. And besides, I was glad that I wasn't the only girl on the team anymore." She said aloud in a joking tone, making the both of us laugh in her room. We both feel silent as she placed her hands on my shoulders, looking at me square in the eyes.

"Knock him off his feet." She said aloud, "And since you did that already before, that shouldn't be a problem for you." I stuck my tongue out at her and then walked out of her room. I was going to meet Clint in the hanger, since we were going to take one of the smaller planes out to dinner. Every step I took, I got even more nervous as I got closer and closer to the hanger. This was my first date…ever. It sounded so sad, but it was true since there was never a god opportunity to date when you were working for the French Bureau. So this in my head had to be perfect, utterly perfect.

I turned the corner and saw Clint talking to Thor and smiling about something he had. I saw what he was wearing: A black dress shirt with a jacket over it, black slacks and dress shoes. It was real simple or him, but I thought he was beyond handsome as he looked over at me. I walked down the ramp towards him, seeing him face me fully with his hands in his pockets. I thought I saw him look at me the same way before he kissed me: as if he saw heaven itself. I smiled at him, seeing both Clint and Thor look at me and I felt myself blushing just standing there.

"Hi." I said in a nervous smile, and I heard Thor chuckle next to Clint. I looked over at him, though Clint never stopped looking at me and he walked up to me a bit more, a sincere smile on his face as he took one of my hands in his.

"You look amazing." he said to me, making me feel the roller coaster of emotions going on in my heart.

"And you clean up quite nicely." I said in a smile, seeing him look down at what he was wearing. He looked back up at with a shrug.

"Something I had lying around." He joked with me, making me laugh in my spot as I saw Thor move away from the both of us.

"I shall let you escort the lovely woman to a fine feast. But as I said, don't break her heart." Thor said to Clint, then looking over at me and winking. He walked away and I smiled after him, thinking of how grateful that he was there to lessen the tension. I looked back at Clint, seeing the smile was still on his face.

"Shall we?" I heard him ask me, gesturing to the plane with his spare hand. I nodded my head and the both of us started to walk over to the plane.

"So, Fury gave you the green light to take out a plane for the evening?" I asked him in a curious tone.

"He did, but he told me to get it back in the hanger before dawn." he replied back in a grin. He opened the launch doors and helped me inside, the both of us going towards the front of the plane and Clint letting me sit in the passenger seat. I thought we were going to have someone fly us out, but I saw him sit in the pilot's seat and I was shocked to say the least.

"You know how to fly?" I asked him, seeing him grin widely at me like a young boy. I laughed in pure amazement as he got the plane going.

"I guess I'm full of surprises." He said aloud to me, letting me hear the plane roar in full swing as he opened the doors out into the open sky. The sky was tinted a dark blue and black, having me see millions of stars so high up and hardly any clouds to hide them. He then looked over at me, having me look back at him with pure joy in my heart along with excitement and love.

"Where to?" I heard him ask me. I thought about where we can go, what we can do together on our first date. The sky was the limit, at least that's what it felt like to me in my heart. I wanted to do something big, exciting, risky, but something with Clint. So I merely smiled at him, seeing him place this hands on the wheel as I answered him.

"Surprise me."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! I'm almost done I promise! Keep sending me reviews and let me know how I'm doing. Also, I wanted to let you know that I made a set of clothes for Clover on Polyvore. It's just to show you what I had in my head what she would look like fashion wise. Look on my profile for the link. If you can't find it, message me and I'll send it to you. :)


	15. I Did Want This

"You took us to Italy?" I asked him as we flew over what did look like Italy. It only took a good 20 minutes, only because the plane we took was one of our faster planes. I looked through the window and saw all of the monuments that were lit up in the black sky. When I said Italian, I thought of him taking me somewhere back in America at a nice Italian Restaurant, but this was eve better. I've never been to Italy before myself, I had to stay in France not travel. Italy was on my list of places to go, so Clint must of read my mind.

"When you said Italian, this is what I thought." He said to me as we started to descend, "Natasha told me of a place in the heart of Rome that is good for eating." I smiled from the seen of Rome over to Clint, seeing a big smile on his face in hopes that he did do a good job. I saw him reach out his hand for me to take, the other hand still on the steering as I took his hand gently in mine.

"This is perfect Clint." I said aloud to him, feeling him rub his thumb against my skin in a loving way.

"You deserve it." He only replied as I saw the both of us descending towards our date in Rome, making me more excited as to what was going to come soon after. I lost my thoughts on what happened in the past with Schmit, nearly dying and almost seeing Clint die in front of me. All of that was out the window now.

* * *

"This is really nice, Clint." I said to him as we walked to our seats outside the restaurant near the Trevi Fountain. It was a nice cool night since it was summer and it wasn't so cold out, seeing all the people walk by us and going throughout their lives without a care or worry in the world. It made me glad that we did save them from being slaves to Schmit.

"I have Natasha to thank because of this, since I have no idea where to start when it came to finding a place to eat." Clint replied back to me as we both sat down at our small table. After being handed our menus, I scanned for a moment or two and reading the Italian in front of us. As I looked up, I saw Clint looking over at me with a eyebrow raised, having me place my menu down and stare back at him. Was something on my dress? Was my make up messed up? Great, I was already into the date and it was going to go south.

"What?" I asked him in a curious tone. He smiled then, one of his small smiles that I hardly see.

"How many languages can you speak?" He asked me with curiosity, making me breathe out in relief as I moved my bangs from my eyes.

"Well, I can speak 10 fluently and about 2 more that are a bit butchered." I replied back to him, seeing a hit of amazement go off in him.

"Please tell me one of those is Italian. I'm a bit bad at it." He asked me in almost a chuckle. I nodded my head.

"Italian, German, French, Spanish, Russian, English, Japanese, Egyptian, Hebrew and Arabic." I said aloud, "And I so also do Sign Language too."

"Impressive, I can only do two: German and Spanish." Clint said to me and I blushed in my seat, letting us look at the menu for a moment to two before handing the waiter our menus with our orders. Thank goodness the waiter can understand English so Clint and order and not me, that would of been awkward. Then, after receiving some red wine for the both of us, we got to talking again while we waited for out food.

We spoke about how we came to our respected Bureaus, though my was a bit painful it felt better talking to Clint about it. The things we mostly talked about were about our jobs, what was Clint's most challenging mission (he was twenty one in Egypt), my first hacking experience when I was fifteen, the best place he got to go to mission wide (Pacific Islands with Natasha), and my first kill when I was seventeen years old in France. It seemed like normal talk to us, since we were both not normal people.

After awhile we talked about other things, what we would of been if we weren't in the businesses that we were in. I never gave it much thought as Clint asked me that question, making me think about it for a moment or two before tracing my ring on my finger, my mother's ring.

"Probably what I mother did." I replied back to him, seeing him look back at me as I looked down at my ring, "She was a gymnast. Not a professional one, but she did perform for little kids and ran a gym in the town I was born in." That memory made me smile, thinking of her and remembering a moment when I was very little, maybe 5 or 6. I saw my mother outside the house performing on the balance beam by the barn we had. Her long red hair would fly in the wind as I saw her dance on the beam. I can still see her hands moving in the air, her bare feet touching the beam before she jumped in the air. It was one of the rare memories I loved remembering. I snapped back to reality, seeing Clint look over at me.

"What about your dad?" He asked me aloud.

"He was a police officer, that's how he met my mom. He saved her from some guys giving her trouble." I explained to him, then thinking of my dad with his green eyes and wavy black hair. He was a stern person, but when it came to my mother and looking at her, I saw love in him.

"How about you?" I asked him aloud, seeing him shift in his seat and look over at the Trevi Fountain and think about it long and hard. Once he looked back at me, I knew he had his answer.

"Private Investigator." I raised my eyebrow at him, thinking of how odd of a job that would be for him to have.

"You can only take being an assassin for so long until you want to stop and take a step down from it. it's not that I'm not grateful for what I got out of it, I've met people and seen things that I won't forget." He explained to me, making me nod my head in agreement.

"Of course, since you met Natasha, got all the skills learned and more, being in the Avengers." I started to list off all he had with his current job whilst looking down at my hands in my lap.

"Meeting you." I heard him add in, having me stop in my seat for a moment and then looking at up at him from my spot. I said nothing when he said that, making me wonder if I was ever worth his time. But that sounded silly since he flew out to Italy for a dinner?

"You would be a wonderful Private Investigator." I said to him, seeing him smile at me, "But let's be honest, you'd miss all of the adventure with you bow and arrow. And knowing what I know about the Private Investigation business, they won't allow you to use those." He laughed in his spot I could tell I got the old CLint back to his normal self. Though I was still reeling from that fact that he did mention me in the things that he loved about being a assassin. It made me glad that I met him too, bringing me back a life that I always wanted.

We got our food and ate with small conversation in between, though my stomach was occupied with the food that I was eating. It was delightful to eat somewhat real food, and seeing that Clint was also enjoying himself on this date. Throughout the rest of the dinner we were content with ourselves, talking about other things in life that we were interested in. It was peaceful between us, nothing that I wanted more at that moment.

We walked out from the restaurant and over to the Trevi Fountain. The lights were lit from the other buildings as we walked, hand in hand over and saw hardly anyone there. Over to our left there was another restaurant with a jazz band outside playing some slow music. I felt warmth all over as Clint and I approached the fountain and looked at the statues.

"I've always wanted to come here." I said to him aloud as I slipped off my flats and placed them on the floor. Clint raised his eyebrow at me as I hopped onto the little ledge with ease, making me feel like my mother the gymnast.

"Really? I never knew that." he said in a surprised tone as I started to walk back and forth on the ledge.

"I saw picture of this fountain when I was a kid, and actually found out how to get here by hacking into the Italy mainframe and airport security." I explained to him, hearing him chuckle as I moved along the ledge and felt the water fit my legs slightly.

"Let me guess, you were ten?" He asked me in a joking tone, making me look down at me and see him shove me hands in his pockets. I smirked at him and shook my head.

"I was twelve actually, but good try." I said to him, hearing him laugh as he reached out his hand from his spot next to me. I stopped moving and looked down at him, taking his hand in mine and hopping down to be on the ground with him.

"One thing I do know how to do is in fact dance." He said to me, wrapping a arm behind me and on my lower back as he held up my other hand in his and we started to sway with the music. I laughed nervously.

"I'm not a good dancer to be honest." I said in almost a sheepish tone. He smiled at me, making me realize how close we were together as I placed my spare hand on his shoulder.

"I learned when I was younger, you're in good hands." He said to me in reassurance as we swayed some more to the music, only us as the rest of the people at the Trevi Fountain were on their own. We were the only ones dancing, which was odd to think about and felt a bit silly. However, being held by Clint was making it all worth it in my eye. I did feel safe with him since he was so skilled as a assassins he knew what it mean to work with his hands. Just feel his fingers on my lower back made me feel heat from his finger tips go through the fabric of my dress onto my bare skin. He had a way with me, a sick and unreal way with me that made my heart sing.

He took everything I feared away in a flash, whether it was hearing him laugh or talk about his life, or the way he smiled at me. I never thought of myself as truly valuable, as stupid as it sounded. It wasn't until I meant Clint, who showed me my true worth and my true value in life. The one control that I wanted, the control to not have other get hurt because of me, it was all crashing down because of him.

Because of Clint.

* * *

After we landed the plane back at the Hanger some time later, after dance a bit more and just being in silence together while swaying in Italy. Be flew us back to Helicarrier, and we walked up the ramp back to the hallway leading to our rooms. I found myself not being able to let go of his hand or being too far away from him. As we approached my room, we stopped in our tracks and I saw Clint in deep thought as I looked over at him. I could feel some of my hair coming out of my bun so I pulled out the pins, letting the waves come down from the bun around my shoulders.

"What's wrong?" I asked him aloud, seeing him look over at me with some seriousness in his eyes.

"Fury may not like what we're going." He said to me, having me think back to Fury and the team. It might be hairy for the both of us to do this while we were on the team. I knew the rest of the team didn't mind, hell Thor and Natasha endorsed it. But Fury? He might not like it all all. I nodded my head.

"I know." I replied aloud to him, knowing that what we were doing was serious to us.

"And not to mention that I'm five years older than you." He reminded me and I shifted my weight from one foot to another. I never looked at age that way before, only because it was never a issue with me since I was always looked at as a hacker too young for my age.

"Only five?" I asked him aloud, seeing him sigh and rub his eyes. I knew that this was in fact crazy, and this might not be the best idea. He didn't want to risk the both of us being together, and who could blame him. We would be in big trouble. If we had to, we would have to go our own ways and not do this anymore if we wanted to not be killed by Fury. I would never want to risk Clint loosing his job over me, it was the last thing that I ever wanted.

"But I don't want to stop doing this." I heard him say and I looked up at him, seeing him give me a a serious look, showing me that he was telling me the truth. We had a flick of count, weighing out options and knowing that what we were doing could cost us.

"Me either." I replied back to him, seeing him walk over to me and take both of my hands in his, giving me reassurance once more. I saw in his eyes that he wanted this as much as I wanted it.

"For the first time in a while, I'm genuinely happy with where I am and what I'm doing." He explained to me as I found myself against the wall, being sandwiched between the wall and Clint. My heart raced then, knowing that he was close enough to kiss me and hold me close again.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked him with some disbelief in my voice and surprised. He tilted his head at me and had me loose my breath.

"I wanted to tell you, that it's because of you that I'm better." He said to me in the most sincere way possible. I smiled widely at him, still shocked that I could do that to him. I was too wrapped up in what he said about me, once again, to notice him leaning in and kissing me against the wall of Helicarrier. Immediately I lost all of my thoughts, only feeling my arms going around his neck and feeling one of his hands on my neck. His other hand on my lower back, fingers sprawled out as he kissed me softly against the wall and pipes. It was as if he was holding his bow in his hands, with precision and protection. I was lost in my thoughts and mind as I kissed him back, my fingers going through his brown hair and over his shoulders. I needed something to hold onto in order to know that I was back in reality and not dreaming, that this was all not a horrid dream and a teasing one at that. But this had to be real, I knew it was since I felt his fingers on my skin, his lips against mine and chest on mine. He must of been a experienced kissee, because all of his kisses were putting me out of my brain in a good way.

I heard something beeping in his pocket and he groaned, pulling away from me and moving his hand from my neck and taking out his phone from his pocket. His arm was still around me and I leaned against the wall, dying to catch my break from our kissing section.

"Fury's walking this way, according to Tony." He said aloud as I then raised my eyebrow, looking around and tinning that he was looking on us kissing.

"How does he know that?" I asked in a surprising tone, seeing Clint look around as well and then sigh.

"What a perv." He said under his breath as I smiled and tried to hide my ogling with my spare hand. He looked back at me and rubbed my am with his hand.

"I need to head back to my room or else we're in trouble." He said to me, making me sad that our kissing session was over before I knew it. But I nodded my head, seeing him kiss my hand in his and I felt the blush coming through again.

"Thank you for tonight." I said to him, seeing him nod his head at me.

"You're welcome, I'm glad you liked it." He said to me, giving me one last kiss on the lips. This time it was light than before, with a hint of affection in it as he pulled away and stepped away from me, loosing contact with me completely.

"Goodnight Emily." He said to me in a soft tone as I opened my room door next to me. I smiled at him once more, never loosing my smile.

"Goodnight Clint." I said to him, seeing him walk away a bit as I went inside. I saw him one last time walking towards his room, a grin on his face and his hands in his pockets as I closed my door, leaning against it and falling to my knees. My head was reeling, my heart was exploding all over again, all from him. I thought that I could die happy then, still feeling his fingers on my skin and his lips on mine as I smiled, looking up at the ceiling.

I was in love with Clint Barton, with Hawkeye.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey Guys, I'm going to keep this story going with another mission or two. I hope you liked their date, I'll give them more to go on, trust me. Let me know how I am doing. And once again I am sorry for the grammar and spelling mistakes. I am no genius. If you have a suggestion, send me a private message please, not over the review. Thanks again!


	16. Peace for Once

"You okay in there Thor?" I asked aloud from my spot on the couch, hearing him move stuff around in the kitchen and trying not to break things. I was sitting in my new apartment back on the ground in America in New York City, getting a nice flat to myself from the money I "earned". It wasn't a good way to get it, but I knew none the less I needed a place to live since I was on my own for once. We had the okay to go out on our own until we are needed again, and most of us when our own ways. I volunteered to have Thor live with me since he didn't have a real good place to go, seeing a big smile on his face. Captain America went off to his side of New York, getting a place there with the help of Tony. Bruce was staying close by Tony and his tower since they were working together constantly on new weapons and inventions. Natasha really didn't tell me where she was going, which was okay with her since she liked behind alone. And Clint, well he had his own place near mine in New York, the top floor of a nice building with no one living there. I thought of it as his own little nest, though it was in fact rather big. We both knew that we needed space from one another every once in awhile, though it was hard. So moving in together was going to be on pause for a while. It's been two months since we saved the world, though it feels like yesterday.

My flat was near Time Square, having two bed and one bath with a kitchen and living room. The building was a bit old with big windows and brick walls, having me be on the 13th floor so I can see all that was going on below me. It was a nice flat to me, nice and big for me to walk around in with my computers and gadgets I got to bring back from the Helicarrier. It was late summer for us there in New York, so the nights were warm and cool and the tourist were flooding around the city.

"Doing quite swimmingly Miss Tresta. Just getting my food for the feast at hand." Thor replied to me as he walked over with a massive plate of food in his hand. I smiled from my spot as I got out my laptop from the coffee table, going through my bank account and getting things situated for top security. I liked hacking into banks, not to get money, but to find security with my own money.

"You take any more of my food then I'll have to charge you for food." I joked with him getting the last bits of the hacking down and smiling.

"I shall try and refrain myself from taking your food." He said to me as he started eating some of the portion on his plate. I got up from my spot and walked over to the window, seeing some of Times Square down the street. The lights were lit up, giving all that I saw a glow around it. It made me think of my own home, how I grew up in the country and not in the city like this. I looked over at Thor for a moment or two.

"Do you miss home?" I asked him, seeing him stop eating and look up at me as I walked over to him. I sat down in the seat next to him as he looked at me with some confusion in his eyes, "Your home I mean."

"I do, quite a bit. But I am under the notion that my home is no longer in any threat or danger, so therefore I am content being here." Thor explained to me, leaning back in his chair and I could see he was lost in his mind thinking about his home.

"What's your home like?" I asked him aloud in wonder, leaning on my elbows that were on the table. He paused before answering, thinking about it hard before a big smile was on his face.

"It's beyond anything here. Your science and our magic are morphed together to made a wonderful place. The streets paved with gold and buildings higher than the eye can manage. All you see, is sheer brilliance and majesty." He said to me, using his hands to describe the height of the buildings and the roads. I smiled, liking how he described his home to me and seeing the look on his face. He then sighed and looked down for a moment or two.

"You would love it there, Clover." he said in a softer tone of voice, having me try to picture his world in my head. I could see large buildings high above me, filled with gold and shining metal. It sounded like a beautiful place to be from, making me jealous that I never came from there. I then heard my phone ringing in my pocket and I snapped back to reality, clicking the green button and placing it to my ear.

"You told me that you'd call five minutes ago." I said in a teasing tone, hearing a chuckle on the other line and I knew it was him.

"I was caught up with a weapon tweaking session." Clint replied on the other side of the line, having me look over at Thor and mouth "Clint" to him. He shook his head with a chuckle, having me smile and get up from the table.

"So, I was thinking of getting breakfast with you tomorrow morning, that new place down the street from your place." He said to me, making me smile and twirl a spare piece of hair from my pony tail that was left out.

"Sounds like a plan, I'll ask Thor if he wants to join us." I said aloud in a teasing tone, seeing Thor shake his head from his spot by the kitchen table.

"Don't you dare." I heard Clint warn me, making me laugh as I sat down on the chair next to the window, having me view Times Square again.

"I miss hearing your laugh." Clint said to me in a softer tone, having me tuck my knees to my chest. We only got to see each other every once in awhile since he lived a bit farther away. But when we would be together we made the most of it, walking together with stolen kisses and fleeting glances at once another. We got away with more than we could back on Helicarrier.

"You are such a romantic it's ridiculous." I teased him, hearing him laugh on the other hand. his hearty laugh made me miss hearing it next to me.

"I can't help it, it's your fault that I act like this." He said to me, making me rest my chin on my knees. We were quiet for a moment or two before Clint spoke up once more.

"How are you sleeping?" He asked me, his voice was more serious with a hint of concern. I was silent, looking down at my feet and cringing at the thought of sleeping. Since the Alps incident I was getting more nightmares of being on the San Francisco stage in a seizure rage, and those nightmare ended with me dead in Clint's arms. He knew about them since he talked it out of me and made me tell him. After knowing about it he went on a fit trying to get me to see somebody, mostly Bruce, to make them go away. But being the stubborn girlfriend that I was, I said no and that I could be fine on my own.

"They're bearable." I merely replied to him, hearing him sigh on the other line.

"You need to see Bruce, he can get you something…." He trailed off on the phone, but I shook my head.

"No, Clint. I can handle this." I said to him in almost a stern tone.

"Emily, a person can only handle so much before they break. These nightmares are keeping you from sleeping let alone functioning. If you keep having these nightmares, you'll break." Clint explained to me, having me look over at Thor and see him look at me with worry. I shook my head at him, seeing him walk to the bathroom and leave me alone with the phone for a moment or two.

"I know, but it's nothing really. If it does get worse, I'll go to Bruce and he'll get me some sleeping medicine." I reassured him, "Stop worry about me, please."

"I don't want to see you suffer anymore from what Shcmit did to you." Clint said to me in more of a serious tone with a hint of determination, "It's the last thing that I want."

"And the last thing I want is my boyfriend to worry about me over something that I can handle." I said to him in a soft tone, hearing nothing on the other line for a moment or two.

"I'm sorry, I'm just worried about you is all." He said to me in almost a defeated tone, having me sigh as I got up from the chair and walk over to lean against the window glass.

"I know you do, and I love that about you. I'm a big girl though, Clint. I know how to take care of myself, I've been doing it for ten years." I explained to him, "I promise you, that if the dreams are getting worse I'll see Bruce and he'll get me something. He said so himself, he just needs the green light from me."

"I can handle that." He said to me, then pausing for a moment, "Did you just call me your boyfriend?"

"Did I? Huh, that was a mistake I think. Well, I can always call you something else other than boyfriend if you want." I said to him in a smirk and I heard him laugh.

"Boyfriend sounds perfect to me." He said to me and I smiled, knowing that I got the old CLint back. It felt talking to him on the phone, getting my mind back to the regular world for once and nothing that had anything to do with computers, technology or hacking. He gave me peace.

Peace in my chaotic world.

* * *

I fell asleep around 12:30 in my own bed that night, thinking about my younger years with my parents again. They've been in my dreams lately, and I didn't know if that was necessary a good thing or a bad thing. But none the less I can still see my parents, me being a toddler and seeing my mother performer her gymnastic tricks. My fat he held me in his arms, pointing to my mother as she would dance in the grass, saying how great my mother was and how beautiful as well. It made me wake up from my dream in a cold sweat.

I looked over at the clock, it read 2:30 in the morning. I sighed, trying to get my mind to slow down once more before I would go back into the real world. Maybe Clint was right in thinking I needed to get some help from Bruce. But before I could get myself back to sleep, I heard something in the hallway, a foot landing on the wood floor. I looked up from my spot, looking at the door leading to the hallway and listened closely. It can't be Thor, he was in the spare room with his own bed. He never gets up at night, that Demigod sleeps like a rock. I know for a fact that he stomps when he goes down the hallway, and I know he doesn't meant to. This was someone else. Someone else that was skill in being quiet.

Someone was in my flat.

Someone I didn't know.

Someone broke into my apartment. And I thought I was getting a good night's sleep.


	17. What Just Happened?

I peered out of my bedroom from the cracked door, seeing nothing at first in the emily lit hallway. It was too quiet for me to get used to since I knew someone else was in the house. Quickly I ran back over t my closet and grabbed both my shotgun and my regular pistol and going back to the cracked open door. I snapped on my silencer gun and walked out slowly into the hallway, realizing that I was in fact wearing my workout outfit. I must of changed into them before going to sleep, but it as better than my pajamas.

After creeping down my hallway for way seemed like a minute or so, I then saw someone in the living room, dressed in SWAT and having one of his machine guns out in front of him. I aimed my gun, placing it in front of me and looking behind me once more before going anywhere. If he was in my apartment, I knew he wanted to get something from me. But what was there to steal from me? I had nothing of true value to give them, and nothing of real importance. Why was he here? I took one more step with my bare feet on the floor, not making a noise as I walked into the living room behind the first soldier. I shot at him, hearing no noise from my gun go off as he fell to the floor in a grunt. I looked around and saw the second solider running over to me, throwing up my shotgun and hearing the gun go off. He fell as I whirled around, dropping both of my guns as the third soldier that I did not see grab my throat and lift me high in the air. My air supply was dropping rapidly as I tried to fight him off. But he was much bigger than me, almost the size of Thor. Speaking of Thor…

"I suggest you put down the lady before I kill you." I heard behind the third soldier, seeing him turn around and we both saw Thor. Thor was holding his hammer in his hand and saw him throw it out, lightning hitting the soldier in the back. The soldier screamed as he dropped me, making me fall to my back clenching my throat to try and breathe again. Before I could get up, I saw another solider come out of nowhere throw up his leg to kick me square in the chest to break my ribs. I threw my hands behind me, landing them on my floor above my head and I pushed up, kicking him in the jaw as he missed my body landing in front of him on the floor again. I crouched like a cat in front of him and caught his leg from underneath him, seeing him fall to the floor. Before he reached the floor I grabbed his gun from his holster and shot him down.

"Thor, we need to get out of here." I said to him aloud as ran back to my room and grabbed my backpack, throwing it on the bed to pack as he walked over to me.

"Where are these soldiers coming from?" He asked me aloud as I packed a few more things I knew I needed: Cash, gadgets I might use, and the life or death paperwork.

"I don't know but they want us dead." I said back to him, looking over at him and seeing a questioned look on his face. I was just a confused as he was.

"We can go to Stark." Thor said aloud in a suggestion. I shook my head as I threw on the backpack.

"No we can't. We can't risk getting Stark in our situation too." I said to him as we looked at each other and going back out to the hallway. It was quirt all over again, but I knew there was going to be more as I picked up my phone and dialed the first person that I can think about.

"Emily? It's 2:30 in the morning." Clint said over the receiver but I decided to cut him off before he started talking to me.

"Clint, don't go out your door, stay where you air." I said to him in a rushed tone, seeing Thor go out to the living room and look out the window.

"What happened? Where are you?" He asked me in a urgent tone.

"MY apartment. Soldiers are after us and we need to get out of here. Clint, don't go anywhere." I said to him in stern tone, having me stop talking and look up with Thor looking at the front door.

"Emily, get out of there, do you hear me?" Cling said over the phone as I walked out of the bedroom and saw the front door about to be crashed into by some big force.

"I can't talk right now, I gotta go." I said to him. Before be could argue with me I snapped the phone off and the whole front door exploded into wood shattering, along with fire and some loud nosies filling my brain. I was knocked back off my feet as I saw Thor coming over me to grab my backpack.

"Time to go." He said to me as I was dragged backwards a bit before I found my footing and following him to the window. He whirled his hammer in a fast pace, and I knew we are going to fly as I looked behind me, seeing three more soldiers coming out from the hallway. I grabbed my shotgun from being my back and started shooting as I heard the glass shattering and Thor clench my arm. The next feeling I felt was my stomach dropping as I felt the two of us being launched in the air, feeling the cold wind in my hair and face. I looked one last time at my flat, seeing the three soldiers looking out the shattered window at me with anger. I grabbed something from the side pocket and placed it on my arm like a watch. Fury gave them to us if we ever needed backup and if it was an emergency: Our homing device. I clicked it on, hearing it beep as we whizzed through the air away from the city into what looked like the woods.

"Where are we going?" I asked him over the loud noise of being flown through the air.

"We need to shelter away from the soldiers." He said to me over the noise and I could see we were in the deep forest area now, away from the all the buildings and people. I never flew this fast before in the short distance, making me rethink of how Thor can travel. I saw us being lower and lower before I looked up at Thor.

"Drop me here!" I yelled at him, looking down at me with a scared look on his face. I nodded my head at him, telling him silently to do so. He released me, having me fall into the dark forest. I covered my head while I felt the branches hitting me softly and the leaves being scattered around me as I landed rolling down the green area and trying not to have a broken bone in my system. The rolling lasted for about one minute until I finally stopped and was laying on my stomach facing East.

It was still dark, but I saw the moon above me and it was giving me the only source of light that I need to run. There were so many trees I didn't know where to turn or how to get out of there. MY heart was beating way too fast for a normal person, my body was still in one piece and I was praying to God that whoever was trying to kill me was down and gave up. I got up slowly, hearing the homing device on my wrist beep wildly as I tried to figure out where to go. Then I heard it, the calling on the homing device.

"Clover, you read me?" I heard on my wrist as I brought it up to my ear.

"Tony?" I asked aloud, still out of breath.

"You device called me, you okay?" He asked me aloud I looked around myself.

"I'm fine. I was attacked at my flat by 10 soldiers with Thor." I explained to him. I heard him moving stuff around on his other end, making me readjust my backpack on my back.

"Where is Thor? Is he with you?" He asked me aloud.

"No, he dropped me in the forest. I don't know where he is." I said back to him. It made me scared for him, thinking of where he went and if he was okay.

"Okay, I have a lock on you right now. Clover, I'm coming to get you right now. Stay where you are." He said to me, having me then hear gunshots in the distance aiming towards me and making me face East again. I was frozen in my spot, trying to look real hard as to where the shot came from. I then sighed in somewhat defeat, now knowing who was coming my way. As it was, there were at least 5 soldiers running after me and I started to run in the opposite direction.

"Tony, if you don't get here within 2 minutes in your Iron suit, I might be dead." I yelled into the device as I bolted through the woods, dodging everything that I could in order not to be hit by a flying bullet.

"Who's after you?" He asked me as I moved fast through the rough edges of the trees. I heard a bullet hit the tree that was close to my head and I jumped to the side while I was still running. I looked behind me once more and saw more soldier running my way. I laughed from his question, thinking of how silly it was to ask something like that at a time like this.

"Let me ask!" I said in a grunt as I grabbed one of the other gadgets that I had in my backpack side pocket. I held it in my hand before hitting the activate button and then throwing it behind me at full force. It was a nice little gadget Tony made for me as a early present to get through New York. I guess this was the right time for it. I heard it hit a tree and then a large explosion behind me. Trees splitting in half and soldiers screaming as they fly through the air.

"Sorry I couldn't get their answer since I blew them up." I said into the device, thinking that Iron Man must be grinning at that point. I ran faster, knowing that more will be coming in and getting through to me as I saw a large river coming my wall down the end of a hill.

"I'm getting close. Get out of sight and stay put." Tony said to me as I saw what I was about to encounter a cliff leading into the river. I didn't see that before, so I tried to slow down before I could trip over the cliff into the rocks below, But as a bullet graze over my head barely I had no choice. I bolted towards the edge, making sure I had enough speed. I was thinking that if I launched myself hard enough and fast enough, I could make the river. That was a scary thought, a stupid and scary thought. I knew Clint was going to kill me for this, but I had to get out. I turned off the device and threw it to the side on the edge of the cliff, thinking that I would electrocute myself if I wore that in the river. I grabbed another gadget just to make sure that they would be done for the count and I heard the gadget go off as soon as I jumped.

The explosion launched me more than I wanted, making me think that I overshot the river. I saw the river coming towards me as I was flying through the air, the air going through my hair and I took in a deep breath before hitting the water. It felt like knives hitting my skin and face, the water being so cold. I wanted to scream out because of how cold it was, but I had to keep my mouth closed tightly to hold my breath. I looked up, seeing above the water the color of orange and red from my gadget making the forest explode in flame. I clung onto the rock boulder next to me that was in the river, only to make sure I wouldn't be take with the current.

As I was sitting at the bottom of the river, my lungs about to give out from no air, I prayed to someone that they would be gone so I can have lift my head up. But I didn't want to move for a moment or two. I could feel the coldness turning into numbness in my fingers and toes. My head was getting light as I kept my eyes up and staying still in just they were searching the water. This made me mentally glad that I was wearing a black jacket and workout pants.

Suddenly I saw someone that looked too familiar, making me glad that he was there. It was Iron Man, his image behind the wall of water making me want to smile widely. He was in his suit, looking around for me. I suddenly pushed myself up with both hands and reached the surface, feeling air on my face and breathing in deeply. I blinked a few times, trying to get my vision back to normal and coughing to get my lungs working one more time. I looked around, seeing the darkness from the night and the light of the moon hit the river and the cliff. Iron Man was next to the the river, looking down at me and having me smile at him. In his hand was my homing device, twirling it around his finger as I saw the trees on fire behind him on the cliff. From where I was the cliff looked about fifty feet high, making me amazed that I jumped it.

"I told you to stay put." Iron Man said to me as he grabbed my backpack, lifted me up like I was a feather and placed me gently on the solid ground where he was. I nodded my head and ran my fingers through my wet auburn hair.

"Well I was trying not to get killed by those guys and I had to disappear." I replied to him in a raspy tone, taking off my backpack and placing it on the floor next to us and also my shotgun. I moved by back around to make sure I didn't break anything.

"Oh, nice gadget by the way. They saved me ass." I said to him as I pointing to the cliff with the slamming trees. Iron man just shrugged and looked from the cliffs over to me.

"I knew you liked explosives." He replied to me, making me smile as I placed my hands on my knees, bent over slightly and breathing in and out. We were quite then as I stood back up completely and looked back at the cliffs. The colors of orange and yellow mixed was making the night brighter, but my thought were on who was after me, and why were they after me so bad. I looked from the cliffs over to Iron Man, a serious look on my face and a confused brain. I only had one question on my mind.

"What just happened?"


	18. New Enemy

"Get her a blanket! She's freezing." I heard Tony's assistant ant girlfriend, Pepper Potts, say aloud as she walked over to the both of us as we landed on the top floor of his own skyscraper. It was still dark out as Tony flew us back to his place. I was still trying to breathe form holding my body under water, and still trying to figure out what just happened back in the woods. Iron Man didn't want to stick around to see who they were from, but it made me want to. I wanted to see who they were working for, and what they wanted.

Pepper escorted me into Tony's flat on the top floor as Tony got his suit off. I walked in and felt warmth as Pepper stripped off my backpack and gun, placing them on the couch and sitting me down on one of the chairs. As she walked away to get be a blanket, I looked around his flat. It was big, way bigger than what used to be my old flat. Most of the things in his place was expensive and rare for me to see. I wrapped my arm around my body as Tony walked in, no more suit on him and he walked over to stand in front of me. I looked up at me, looking pale in the face and almost blue in the lips from being too cold.

"Want to explain to me what in the hell happened back there?" He asked me in a serious tone, having me stop shaking for a moment and look at him like he was crazy.

"I was attacked at my flat for no apparent reason, Thor got us out and he dropped me off in the forest." I explained back to him in a shaky tone, feeling the coldness hit my inner organs and making me shake even more violently, "Speaking of which, where is Thor?"

"Fury got a hold of him with his homing device from his hammer. He should be here soon." Tony replied aloud as I saw Pepper walk back with a big fleece blanket. She wrapped it around me, having me feeling heat for the first time in what seemed like forever and I clutched it close to me.

"Who would do this?" Pepper asked aloud to the both of us.

"Someone who knows we exist." Tony replied to her, and I saw Pepper take his hand in her. I then looked down at my wet shoes and clothes, trying to get warm from the blanket. WHo would know who we are other than Schmit, who was already dead thanks to me. It didn't make sense.

"Clover, you still have those cameras in your living room and hallway, the ones I installed for you?" Tony asked me, having me nod my head as I looked up at me. He then moved over to his computers on the other side of his flat and started typing away.

"It was too dark to see on those cameras." I said to him, but I saw him shake his head.

"I placed thermo setting in those, we can see who they are working for." Tony explained to me as I heard the elevator door opening. Both Pepper and I looked over and saw it was Clint walking over to me with a relived look on his face. He was wearing his street clothes: leather jacket with a gray jacket underneath, blue jeans and a maroon shirt and boots. He walked straight over to me and I got up from the couch. As soon as he was close enough he hugged me, having me hug him back with as much as I could, feeling him sigh in relief and rub my back gently. Everything was okay now that he was holding me that way. I felt pull me away and frame my face in his hands gently.

"You okay?" He asked me in a worried tone, scanning my face for damage. I nodded my head, seeing him smile slightly as he hugged me again. I didn't mind not having a blanket on anymore with Clint warming me up. He then pulled away and saw that I was wet, very wet. He immediately stripped off his jacket and placed it over my shoulder, having me place my arms in and wore it completely; the smell of his cologne and rain was still evident on the jacket.

"Did you get hit?" I asked him as I moved my wet hair away from my face. I was then afraid if he get hurt or they did try to hurt him. I knew he could handle himself, but since we were a couple it had to come with anxiety.

"Yeah, but only by five of those soldiers." he replied to me, having me raised an eyebrow at him, "Only five?"

"I took them out before we stepped into my apartment, it was after you called and warned me." Clint said to me in reply and I felt better know that he didn't have to fight them, well, not a whole lot of them.

"I got a picture of them." We heard Tony say aloud, the three of us walking over to him and looked at the picture he brought up. There was the living room, with one of the soldiers walking through the room with his gun in hand. It must of been before I came and got them. I felt Clint take my hand in his as I saw my couch, my coffee table, my rug. It didn't make sense that I wanted to have a bit of normalcy in my life. It might be the case for me anymore, no normal life for me.

"Look on their arms, those shields." Pepper said aloud, pointing to the marks on their arms of their uniforms. I peered on one of their arms and saw the shield. I didn't see it at first, only seeing a cube of some sort tilted to the side and in front of it a large O. I've never seen that on any soldier from an government agency before, and that made me a bit more confused.

"It can't be him." Tony said aloud, looking at the mark some more. The rest of us looked over at Tony with confusion on our faces. It was as if he saw a old friend, or worse: a old foe. It made me scared, since I never saw him make that face before.

"Who?" Clint asked aloud. But we only saw Tony look over at the both of us with either what looked like both fear and anger in his face.

"Norman Osborn."

* * *

I sat on Tony's couch in the wee hours of the morning, after taking a hot shower and getting in some clothes Pepper found for me. I was facing the city below us, still seeing the lights in the city and life go on below us. Since I could't go back to my own flat, Clint was going to take me to his and Thor would stay with Tony. I held warm coffee in my hands, thanks to Pepper who thought I needed something warm to drink. She was beyond wonderful to me, making sure I was warm and safe. I couldn't help but look behind me at Pepper and Tony, both of them talking about what was going on and seeing Pepper rub Tony's back affectionately. THey had a genuine love for one another, it was good to see that in such a weird world.

"You look tired." I head next to me as I looked over. Clint walked over and sat with me, having a soft look on his face and I nodded my head at him.

"They took a lot out of me." I said to him, rubbing my eyes and trying to stay awake for the sake of being there with Clint. We were silent for a moment or two before I spoke.

"Who is this Norma Osborn?" I asked him aloud, taking a sip from my drink and feeling it go down into my stomach.

"Some big guy in Chicago. My guess, he's a big guy like Schmit." Clint said aloud, having me look over at him with a concerned look on my face, "I've never heard of him."

"Apparently Tony has." I mentioned, the both of us looking over at Tony and seeing him look through the computers once more. It was scary enough not knowing who this guy was, why he was trying to kill us, and how hard he wanted to hit us. He made Schmit look so tame and nice, that was no joke.

"Any word from The Captain, or Widow?" I asked him aloud, seeing him look back at me.

"Both are safe and fine. They both were hit but they got out alive. Fury has them back at Helicarrier." He explained to me, having me nod my head. I was glad the two of them got out of there in one piece.

"You'd think we'd be done for awhile after Schmit." I said in a grunt and looked in front of me again, "I never thought something like this would happen."

"You and be both." Clint said back to me. It was quiet then, hearing the slight wind in the air hit the skyscraper walls and the city life below us. It was almost a rhythm, a nice rhythm for me to hear. I felt Clint take my hand in his gently as he then looked over at me.

"Let's go back to my place." He said to me, having me nod my head. I drank the last of the coffee, not feeling its effects as all and we both got up from the couch. After thanking Tony and Pepper for helping the both of us out, we headed back to his place. At least I can feel safer there instead in my crashed up apartment. It was nice since Hawkeye lives a few blocks down from Stark and we didn't have to go that far. I needed sleep, and to get myself back together after what just happened to me.

I needed rest.

* * *

I woke up screaming again on Clint's couch, feeling as though I was about to die once again at the hands of Schmit. It was never this bad before, but it must of been from what I went through some time before. it didn't help that I slept through the rest of the day from being so tired. Clint pressed me to sleep in his bed, but I couldn't do that to him since he needed sleep himself. I took the couch, much to his dismay. He was working the rest of that day with Stark and Fury on figuring out what this Norman Osborn wants from us.

"Emily! Emily you're okay!" I heard next to me as I screamed on the top of my lungs. I can still feel the seizure going through me and I memories of Schmit going on in my brian as Clint grabbed my arms and shook me awake. I finally stopped screaming and was looking up at Clint, who looked down at me with a face of pure sadness. I sat up slowly, placing my head in my hands and tried not to cry in front of him, feeling him rub my arms and kiss my forehead in a loving manner.

"San Francisco?" He asked me in his low tone, but I didn't reply. He knew it was San Francisco all over again, and without any warning pulled me against me and hugged me in a affectionate way. I wrapped my arms around him, feeling as though he will always bring me back to reality. There we were, at 4:00 in the morning and hugging on his couch from a hideous nightmare. I wished the nightmares were gone for good, so that both Clint and I can stop suffering from them.

"We're getting you medication from Banner." Clint said to me in his low tone, and I nodded my head. I knew he was right this time.

This time I needed help. And he was there to hold my hand every step of the way.


	19. Keeping Hands Clean Is His Game

"His name is Norma Osborn. A pretty good business man and scientist, he owns Osborn Industries in Chicago and has been running it for a few years." Fury explained to us at Helicarrier. Since the assassination attempts on all of us, we all fled back to Helicarrier to be safe and make sure no one else was trying to get us. It was lot better than hiding out in New York trying to not be seen. After my last nightmare incident, I came to Bruce as soon as we got on Helicarrier and told him what was happening. He was beyond helpful in getting me some medication so that I can sleep, and also making sure that I was eating right and going to bed at a reasonable time so that the nightmares can be less and less.

"The last we've heard from this man was before we made the Avengers, he was getting away with some gang violence in Chicago. S.H.I.E.L.D. went in to investigate, and we saw that he took up a different persona: Green Goblin." Fury explained as he clicked something onto the computer. We all looked and saw his face on the screen. He looked like a stern man, a stern business man who no need of happiness or joy in his eyes or face. He looked straight into the camera with haunting eyes that seemed so empty, along with being a in a business suit that made him look wealthy. I was surprised that I never heard of him, than again I was with the French for 10 years and we weren't going to affiliate with the Americans.

"As the years went by, we saw that he was hiring his own gun work and soldiers in rode to keep those who are…in his way…out of the way. He's been doing this for awhile and we've had to disable him a few times." Fury explained to us aloud.

"And he didn't like that too much, I take it?" Captain asked from his spot.

"He almost fought against us a few times." Fury replied back to him, "It doesn't help when he had psychological issues that come out when we try to stop him."

"Psychological? As in PDSD?" Bruce asked aloud from his spot next to Tony.

"More along the lines of being insane and power hungry. He brought out his alter ego after years of this." Fury explained to us some more, "Here's our plan, we get into his computer systems and pull out everything we can about him. What he wants, what he is going to do, and why he is after us. Clover will get his information on our computers, and we will have to pay him a visit in the near future when we figure out what he wants." Fury explained to us as he looked at me when my name was mentioned. I nodded my head once, knowing that I was going back to my hacking skills. He then walked off to his own office leaving the rest of us together in the main carrier room and I saw Natasha walk over to me. In her eyes I can see she was a bit concerned for me and what happened.

"Fury told me what happened." She simply said aloud as I saw Thor walk over as well. His face had the look of sadness and defeat.

"I apologize for leaving you behind and almost having you killed." Thor said in a sad tone and I shook my head at him.

"I told you to drop me, it was my fault. I didn't know they were after me." I said to him aloud, looking back at Natasha,"What I wanna know is how they found me in the forest."

"You think they were trailing you after the two of you left your place?" Captain asked me aloud, having me shrug at him.

"I don't know, but they were good. Better than anyone I've seen." I said back to him, seeing him nod his head as Bruce walked over to me.

"Let's get you your medication." He said to me and I followed him out of the room, looking behind me and seeing Clint look back at him. He nodded his head once and I smiled at him, looking forward and following Bruce into his lab. I was going to have to tackle one more item of my life that needed to be placed out of the way in order to make this job work.

I needed to harbor my demons.

"This guy be beyond anything we thought about him." I said to the group aloud with all the information that I found on him. It was late that night and we were back in the main carrier, giving me hours to get whatever I needed on this guy and show him to the team.

"He's more power hungry than we thought Shcmit was, ten time more. His made a serum that would give him superhuman abilities, giving him superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, and a rapid healing factor." I explained to them, showing them the clips I found of the "Green Goblin" fighting of policemen that were recorded by phone and were on the recent news.

"Not only is he powerful, he's just as smart. He went to college for chemistry and engineering and came through to make an enhancement that he placed in a good number of his employees, according to some of their medical records, and death certificates." I explained, showing the documents on the screen.

"Why would be experiment on his employees if he knows he'll kill them?" Natasha asked aloud, having me look over at her.

"Trying to keep his employees on the same page as him apparently. This guys had no sense of humanity in his body." Tony said aloud as we all looked over at him. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"You know him." I said in a matter of fact tone. Tony walked over to the screen I was next to and shook his head. I could tell in his stance that he hated this man, for some reason really hated him. Either they rubbed the wrong way once, or that they crossed paths in the past.

"Not personally, but with business. I've seen his work and what he wanted to do. He's hiding something from the public, claiming to be good for mankind. He wants ultimate control, and he doesn't get it, he'll take out whoever is in his way. He's been known to get rid of the companies that are in the way." Tony explained to us as he faced the team, his face filled with determination, "He keeps his hands clean and he knows how to make people disappear."

"We need to take him down and fast before he does anything else that could be damaging." Fury said aloud as I looked over at Tony. I was glad he knew about this man other than me, making me rely on him a bit more than before. He knew this man, he knew what he was capable of, and that made this mission even more of a priority.

"Right, we'll pay him a visit at his building tomorrow and see what we can do to make him stops whatever he has up his sleeve." Fury said to the group and we all looked back at the picture that was on the screen behind me. We all saw his face, knowing that he was the new enemy in our team and we had to keep a close eye on him in case he was going to do something bad.

Real Bad.

"Welcome Mr. Stark. How's your day sir?" The receptionist asked aloud to Tony and as we walked up to the ground level of the Osborn Industry building. It was bigger, much bigger than Stark's own skyscraper, making me think that this guy had a bigger head than Stark. That was a shock. I was going in with Bruce and Tony as we were going to meet with him, the rest of the team were going to wait outside in case something broke out and we needed backup. It was bright day in Chicago as we walked into the building in out street clothes. Well, Tony was wearing his suit and Bruce had a nice dress shirt with nice pants. I got a nice sleeveless blouse with a fitting skirt and flats to wear, something I was not particularly used it.

"Quite well thank you." Tony replied, taking off his shade and placing them in his jacket pocket.

"I'm sorry, Mr Stark, but we were informed that you were going to come alone." the receptionist said aloud, looking at both Bruce and myself with worried eyes. Bruce and I look at each other and I shrugged, thinking that she most of been new to this whole thing.

"That was my fault, I'm sorry about that." he said to her in a reassuring smile, "But these are my business associates that I wanted to bring along with me. This is Dr. Bruce Banner and my computer analyst Georgiana Stevens." I saw the woman look at the both of us and we smiled at him, showing that we seemed harmless. She nodded his head as she picked up the phone.

"He's in his office on the top floor. Let me call him and let him know about your associates." The woman started to say aloud, picking up the receiver. I the knew that our plan might be foiled because of that. But Tony shook his had and started walking towards the elevator.

"There is no need for that, sweet face. I'm sure he'll like this element of surprise." He said aloud, having me see her place the phone down and watch us get into the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, I sighed in relief and Bruce looked up at Tony a aggravating look on his face. I looked over at Tony as well.

"Georgiana Stevens? WHy don't you make me sound like a Pageant contestant why don't you." I said in a low tone, hearing him chuckle and look over at me.

"Would you rather me call you something more Irish. Like Lucy McFarland?" he said to me, having me shake my head as I saw Bruce shift his weight from one foot to another.

"That was cutting it a bit too close Tony." he said to him as I looked and saw us going higher and higher up the building.

"She could of called security." Tony reminded him and I looked over at Bruce. He looked at me and I shrugged in agreement.

"You think this is a good idea?" I asked him aloud, seeing that we were getting closer to the top floor.

"Might as well want him now before he kills off half the city with whatever he has up his sleeve." Tony said to me, making me see his point and I saw us slow down, "Alright Lady and Gentle Giant. Get your game faces on. Time to make this guy shake."

"Everyone in place?" Bruce asked me, having me look down at the phone screen in my hand. There were at least 5 dots around the building, all in different colors and in other buildings. I knew those were the rest of the team, showing me that they were in position. I snapped the phone shut and nodded at Bruce. We saw the door opening and we were instantly in his office. The office itself was half of the whole floor of the building, with tall walls and ceilings and old chairs and couches. It made me think of a library in New York: Old and filled with history. And sure enough, there he was. Sitting on the desk slightly and having his hands folded in front of him. He wore a nice gray suit, his hair combed over and a big smile on his face. I kept a stern look on my face as we walked in, seeing him smile at the three of us.

"Mr. Stark. Thank you for coming to my office." He said to him and I knew we were about to hit the deep end.

No turning back.


	20. If you Insist

"Norman." Tony merely replied aloud to him as we walked up to him, standing a good ten feet away from him. Normal looked at both Bruce and myself, making me shift my weight a bit in uncomfortableness. I already knew I hated this man, since he tried to kill me days before.

"I didn't know you were going to bring guests." he said aloud in a hesitant tone, but the still smiled. I knew he fooled him but he was trying got made it not bother him. I wished I could look into his brain, seeing what was going on and what he was thinking about.

"Oh I brought some of my good friends, people who are very good at what they do." Tony said aloud, and I could tell he had a hint of hate in his voice. Norman looked down for a second and got up from his desk, walking over to stand behind it as he looked straight at Tony.

"Is this abut me trying to take over Stark Industries some time back?" He asked him lazy tone, trying got making it sound like it was water under the bridge, "You know how I am Stark. I'm a shark the ocean surrounded like bate. I go in for the kill and I rise up."

"I can understand that, up until the point where you can go too far on a person or company." Tony said back to him, having me look over at Tony and then Bruce to see if this was going as planned.

"Now your definition of too far is different from how I see it. You see, there's nothing better than being at the top of your game, and your field. You have your field of weaponry, and I have mine in chemistry." He explained to Tony placing both of his hands on his desk and looking up at us. I felt how cold his eyes were in my spot. It made me think of evil, and death, all at once.

"I find it going too far when I hear someone that I am close to almost being killed by you." Tony said aloud as he walked over to the desk a bit more, his voice was cold and almost sounded like anger. Norman raised his eyebrow at Tony, and I knew he knew what we were going to do.

"You? Close to people? Now I find that hard to believe Tony. We never should be close to people, you and I. Business people like us rule the world with a iron fist, and sometimes we take down those who stand in the way of our success." He explained, then looking over at me. I then froze in my spot, knowing that I was not out in the open as he walked over to me from his spot behind the desk. He was slow walker, I knew this because it was trying to register it in his head. He then froze in front of me about 10 feet away, having me stay perfectly still as he then smirked. I hated his smile, it made me think of the devil.

"You." He said to me, pointing to me as I felt my breath leave me, I knew it clicked it in his head. Why didn't I bring a real pistol or shotgun, all I brought was a knife that was strapped to my thigh.

"I thought I killed you." He then said, and I knew it was game over. Tony walked over from his spot and stood in front of me, facing Norman as Bruce grabbed my hand and tugged me over to him.

"It was you that tried to get my comrades killed." Tony said in a low tone, a tone filled with seriousness and hate. Norman snapped his head over to Tony and then I saw the evil seeping through his skin as eyes.

"You work with them now? Well, that does make sense." he said in a smirk as I felt Bruce tugging me behind him in case this guy was going top try something.

"What do you want with us? Did we tick you off and not join your little pity party against the man?" Tony asked him aloud, seeing Norma shake his head and walk away from us. One false move from me or him, and this can be a battle before we knew it.

"You and your Avengers are getting in the way of my plans for this mediocre world." He said back to me, whirling around and sneering at the three of us. I wanted to get out of there at that moment, literally run for my life.

"What makes you think you can succeed?" Tony asked him in a challenging tone, then seeing Bruce release me and the both of us walking over to be next to Tony.

"What makes you think I'm going to fail?" he asked me aloud, reaching down to grab something from his desk and I watched his hand.

"One of you against 8 of us?" Bruce asked aloud in his low tone, making me look over at him and see him get a bit angry from what was going here. I then heard Norman laugh aloud from his spot away from us and it made me think that he already had something up his sleeve.

"Let me tell you once, and only once since I know how bigheaded you are. Save your breath and time and step away from us. You try to do anything, you will loose." Tony said to him in a low tone, walking up to him completely to be close to him and sneer at him. He didn't move for a moment, standing still in front of Tony and I saw something click in his brain. Something went off. He then grabbed Tony's neck and threw him up in the air, clutching his throat. Bruce and I took at step forwards as Tony clenched his arm, clearly struggling. If he was struggling, then this guy was a piece of work.

"Tony!" Bruce yelled aloud as we both bolted over to help Tony. Norman looked at us both and threw Tony back over our heads. We both stopped and looked, hearing Tony hit the bookcase near the door and fall to the floor. I cringed from the noise and looked back over at Norman, seeing his sinister smile once more. I then reached down, reaching underneath my dress and grabbed the handle of the small knife I had strapped to my thigh and threw it, aiming for his head. He moved to the side right in time, but I grazed over his eye and he screamed out. I saw him clench his eye and some blood coming from it and I looked behind me. Bruce was helping get Tony up from the ground.

"You'll pay for that!" I heard behind me as I saw Norman look at me with his one good eye, looking as evil as ever. I only glared at him, knowing that he had to pay for what he did to Tony, for almost killing me, and for trying to kill all of my teammates.

"Bring it." I replied back to him, seeing him grab something in my hand and throwing it on the desk behind him. Everything went off in brightness, having me fall back and close my eyes and hearing a loud explosion in front of him. I threw a arm in front of my face to hide my eyes as I felt a gush of wind flowing through the room and having my hair fly back. I wonder what he did, what he used to make that big of a bang. As I opened my eyes I looked in front of me and saw in horror:

The Green Goblin.

He looked more vicious than before, having a green suit with a mask that make me think of the devil itself. His eyes were yellow visors that were shielding his eyes, the rest of suit mechanic like Tony's Iron Man suit. He was surrounded by green smoke, giving me the feeling like it was seeing the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz.

Sheer terror.

"If you insist." He replied, his voice was still the same but a bit warped. He then flew over to me, almost the same way as Iron Man would, landed in front of me and threw his arm across my face before I could even react. I flew back and slammed into the hardwood floor, hitting my head and feeling the intense pain in my left cheek. Just being knocked onto my back whipped out my energy and my strength to get up.

"Clover!" I heard Tony yell out from behind me as I saw The Green Goblin walk over to me and stand over me, tilting his head to the side. I knew he was going strike again and I had to move out of the way. But the pain in my cheek was making it hard for me to even move my legs. He lifted his hand, about to strike once more before the sound of glass shattering to my right, as if someone or something went through the window into the room. I saw a object fly by behind him and he flew back in the same way as well. He slammed into the wall to my left and was sticking to it somehow, making me sit up and look at him with confusion. Was that his doing? Before I could even figure it out, I felt Bruce grab me under my arms and hoist me up on my feet again.

"You okay?" He asked me in a worried tone, and I nodded my head as we both ran back to meet with Tony. The three of us looked at the scene for only a moment or two. The window on the right was shattered, opening to a balcony and we instantly saw the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane fly over to be hovering over the balcony. Then were was The Green Goblin, attached to the wall somehow and trying to get free. The rest of the things were shifted around from the explosion as the three of us ran for the balcony. Before I hopped on, seeing both Bruce and Tony get on the ramp, I looked behind me and saw someone on the wall above the Green Goblin, attached like he was a spider of some sort. He was wearing dark blue jeans, a dark red hoodie with the hood over his head. I wondered who it was under I ran back on the ramp, seeing us fly away from the Oscorp Industries building and back into the air.

After being saved by a man who can crawl walls.


	21. Best In Me

I looked in the mirror, seeing the largest bruise I have ever had on the side of my face. It wasn't swelling anymore as it was just getting spread all over the left side of my face. The blue and green morphing together looked like vines spreading out from the middle of my cheek that was just a dark color. We were back at Helicarrier after that nasty incident with Norman Osborn, or what we thought was Green Goblin. He was stronger than we thought he was going to be, much stronger. I knew that was the serum that he injected in himself, to make him much stronger than we thought. But as we came back and Bruce looked at my face, I was trying to figure out who that young man was that helped us out in the incident. He literally saved my life, and I was grateful for whoever he was.

"This is actually a good look for you." I heard behind me and I looked through the reflection, seeing Tony look at me through the mirror and I glared at him, looking behind me at him. I saw him smile at me and leaned against the door of the lab.

"How's your neck?" I asked him in a curious tone. He got up completely and walked over to me.

"Bearable. I can live with a sore throat." He said to me with a short smile on his face. He then looked down at his feet with his hands in his pockets. I knew he was thinking about what just happened to him.

"How to do handle this guy?" I asked him aloud, folding my hands in front of my body, feeling my hair scan my hair and hit my bruised face.

"We hit him hard." I heard him reply in a short tone, looking up at him and seeing him look up at me with determination in his eyes. He was serious about this whole thing with Norman, wanting to take him down and get him where it hurts. I never saw him want to take down someone so bad before, with so much anger and hate towards another person. Who was I to argue with him? His mind was set, and there was nothing to move it around.

"With everything we have. I know he won't go down without a fight or a big finish, but I want to make sure we give that to him." He ended and I nodded my head at him. We both knew that was the end of the discussion and the next we were going to do is make sure he doesn't do anymore damage than before. I saw him look t the mirror behind me and sigh.

"I need to find a suit that will match this bruise." He said in a snort, making me smirk in my spot. I knew the old Tony was back, and his suit loving banter. Tony then walked out of the room, making me smile at his old ways coming through. I looked back at the mirror and then saw some more of my face. Some of the bruising reached the tip of my ear and the bottom corner of my eye. I sighed, thinking that I looked more like the Hulk with just my cheek alone. Bruce told me it will did down within days, to a more natural looking bruise than what it is now. My cheek was throbbing at this point, touching it slightly with only the tip of my finger would send me in pain. I saw Clint in the reflection, standing at the doorway and smiling at me. I smiled back at him, finally turning around and seeing him walk over to me slowly. When I smiled at him, my cheek started throbbing all over again as he walked up to stand in front of me. Gently he placed one of his hands on my bruised cheek, his thumb rubbing my skin softly and his other hand was on my waist.

"What do you think of my new look?" I asked him in a smirk, seeing him smile slightly as he looked at my bruise.

"I prefer the old look, with no bruise on your face." He replied in his low tone, having me bit my lip knowing that silently it was killing him seeing me like this. I hated him seeing in pain over me, pain or worry.

"He was stronger than we thought." I said to him, seeing him look from the bruise over to me in my eyes. I could see the wheels turning in his head.

"Whatever he has going through his system is going through the soldiers he has working for him." Clint said aloud to me, having me nod my head and seeing why those soldiers that attacked me were that strong. I placed my hand on his that was still on my cheek and felt his grip on my waist tighten slightly.

"Next time I'm going with you." he said to me in almost a stern tone. I shook my head at him, seeing his protective side come through. I loved him for it, but I knew how protective he was to the point of almost getting himself killed. He wanted to protect me from the world, all of it.

"I was fine Clint. He just came out of nowhere." I reassured him with a stern look on my face to show that I was going to going to hold my ground.

"If he can do this to you." He said aloud, looking to my bruise and then looking back at me, "Then he's can inflict more pain and more destruction than we ever imagined. Next time it can be worse."

"But he can be stopped, I know he can. I'm not going to step down and watch the rest of you fight when I know I can fight myself." I explained to him. He knew that I was telling the truth, and I smiled at him, finally showing some softness in my face as I kissed him lightly on the lips. I saw him pull away with a small smile on his own face.

"If you keep trying to protect me, I'll have to break up with you for excessive protectiveness." I said to him as he kissed my bruised cheek in a loving way, making me giggle in my spot.

"You know, now that I know my girlfriend can take a hit and still look beautiful, I think I'll keep a firm hold on you a bit longer." Clint said to me in a smirking tone and we both walked out of the lab. We both held hands between us and were heading over to the main carrier.

"You better, since you can't get anyone better than me." I said to him, seeing him smirk and look over at me.

"Now that one hurt." He said aloud to me, making me laugh slightly and see him raised our combined hands to kiss my hand gently. Throughout the time we've been together, I've seen him grow from being so quiet and isolated into booming warmer to others and more open to away from his nest. I then stopped in my spot, having Clint look back at me with concern in his eyes.

"What is it?" He asked me, still holding my hand in his as I remembered one more thing about that incident, having me look up at him.

"The man who saved us." I said aloud, having him look at me with confusion in his eyes. I then looked behind me at my own lab that was separate from Bruce's. I released Clint and ran over to it, opening my laptop and hacking before I could even breathe in.

"What's going on?" Clint asked me after following me and standing next to me. I hacked some more, getting into the camera of Oscorp and going to the camera in the office of Norman.

"There was a hooded man there that saved me from getting killed." I said to him as I typed like a mad man, seeing the screen of the camera planed on the wall come onto the computer wall. WE both look as I saw the scene all over again. There was Norman, in his green Goblin Suit and and slamming me to the floor. As I saw the footage I felt the hit all over again in my cheek as I then saw him being flown to the side and I froze the shot.

"There he is." I said aloud, pointing to the section of the screen. Clint looked at where I was pointing and we both saw him on the wall. He had his back to the camera, but we saw him look over at me when Bruce was helping me up from the ground. His hands were already on the wall, as if they were sticking to the wall with no resistance or hard work. He was wearing his dark blue jeans, dark maroon hoodie and the hood over his face. His hands had fingerless gloves on them, having me enhance the shot and make it more crisper.

"Who is this guy?" Clint asked aloud from his spot next to me, having me peer at him some more on the screen. I wanted to see him, find out who he was and why he did that for me.

"I don't know, but I want to find out."

* * *

That night was quiet in Helicarrier. The rest of the team was asleep in their own rooms, but I was with Clint in his room and we were more content with being together than being alone in our own respected rooms. It might be the best decision since Fury was so close to getting on our backs about being together and making the team the second priority in our lives. We both knew that wasn't true, we would bleed for the team. But as tried to sneak around him when we could.

HIs room was a bit dirtier than mine, however I overlooked it since I knew it could be worse from a guy's perspective. I sat on his bed as I knew he was changing in the corner into pajama pants and a wife beater, looking up at the map he had on his wall. The map took up most of the wall, but there were black push pins on certain areas. I got up and looked at the map, seeing the little cities that were behind the black push pins.

"Are these places you have been to ?" I asked him, not turning around to see him change. I was too old fashion about that, it would be too much for me to seem him…..changing.

"Mostly yeah. The dark red ones are the ones I want to go to." He said behind me, making me scan the map of the red pins. I saw a few, some in Africa and others in Australia. It was cool to see that he wanted to go to other places on his own accord. It made me think of him as more of the adventurous type, wanting to see the world without an assignment to tell him to go. I traced my fingers on the map, making me think of wanting to go to those places that he marked. See the lands of Africa, the mountains of China and the desert of Australia. I wished I could go instead of being here, a part of me wished for this.

I felt him behind me as I stayed still, not wanting to turn around and see him. I placed my finger on the part of the map that made me smile, feeling his hands on my hips and his head near mine because of his jaw touching my hair. He was coming closer to me, making me feel like I could not escape from him as hard as I would want to try.

"You want to go to my home?" I asked him in a low tone, placing my finger right on the dark red push pin and feeling his fingers creeping along my hips to rest on my stomach. He pressed against me gently, making me feel his body behind mine and his head against mine. I placed my own free hand on one of his that was on my stomach, trying to control a shiver that was threatening to expose itself.

"I wanna see where you grew up." He replied back to me, his low tone of voice so soft and so soothing as I smiled, leaning my head against his for a moment or two.

"There's nothing but rolling hills and cows, it's nothing really to be excited about." I said to him in almost a laugh as I felt him move his hand away from my stomach. Clint softly moved my hair from my shoulder and I felt so bare in front of him, so exposed and no longer in control.

He was in control now. Damn him.

"Can you take me to these places?" I asked him aloud in almost a breathy tone, seeing as how close we were getting and how I didn't want to break any mood that was settling. I felt his lips on my shoulder, making me breathe out slowly and close my eyes for a moment or two. His lips were ice touching fiery skin, Control, I needed it back and he was taking it from me.

"In a heartbeat." he replied back to me in a whisper, feeling another kiss on my neck and his hold on my hips tightening slightly. I made a fist against the map, trying to hard not to whirl around and have my way with him. But he was making it far too hard for me to do such things to him. I wanted to be better than that, much better. I never saw myself as attractive or beautiful, only a girl with curves and a normal face. It made me doubt, in certain points of my relationship with Clint, if I was ever pretty enough for him? I found him handsome, only by his determination and his loyalty, along with his eyes and precision with his weaponry. To me, that was attractive, but what was attractive to him?

"Em?" I heard behind me, making me stern around slowly and face Clint. He looked a bit concerned, since I was being too quiet and not moving around too much. I hated him for knowing how I was feeling and what I was going through. And he had to use my nickname, the only one in the whole team to use it and I adored it.

"What do you see in me?" I asked him in a serious tone, seeing him look at me with more confusion in his eyes and his hold on my hips became more protective and loving. Then I saw something click behind his eyes, he knew what I where I was going. At least, that's what I got from it.

"I see someone who knows how to fight her battles, someone who is not afraid to get herself hurt for those she loves, who has a beautiful soul and love for others, and is beyond strong both strength and soul." Clint said to me in a softer tone, having me kept my gaze on him and not want to move from being so close to him. No one has ever described me in that way before, not even my parents when I was a young teenager. Clint was the first, and he made me feel whole with just the sound of his voice.

"I see a woman who is skilled in both brains and handling weapons, a woman who can bring out the best in those who are beyond repair." Clint continued, making me place a hand on his cheek as I knew he was talking about himself. He thought of himself as beyond repair, someone who cannot be saved. I never saw him that way, and I hated that about him. I hated how he thought like that about himself.

"Clint.."I started, wanting him to stop saying things about himself and be more positive with himself. But he shook his head gently as I moved my hand with his cheek.

"That's what I see in you, Emily. I see someone who saved me." He ended, making me smile widely and almost break down in tears. I knew he was never a sentimental man, not to mention one with raw emotions on his sleeve. I brought it out in him, and brought out my determination and my love for freedom. We both needed each other, for friendship and comfort. I couldn't see a future without him now, not without seeing him everyday or hearing his voice. We both knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, and that did stop what we had then and there.

I was beyond happy hugging Clint in his room late that night, hearing nothing but our breathing and feeling his arms around me to bring me back to reality and back to him. He saw something beautiful in me when I didn't at all, I and saw the same in him.

I was in love with him, and there was no going back to the old ways.


	22. Operation Chicago

"There's going to be a city wide celebration going on in Chicago and we have to keep an eye out for it in case Norman Osborn does something to upset it or disturb it. The concert is held for honoring both Norman Osborn and Senator Williams for passing a Energy Bill." Fury explained to us as we were in the main carrier. It's been a few days, and my job was to be on patrol in front of the computer in case he would try to do anything. I was in game mode with this guy, watching his very move and making sure that if he did so anything I would be there to stop him. He was sneaky, this guy was always in business meetings and getting things done in his office. I wondered what he had up his sleeve, since most of his computer filings were on the serum that he wanted to inject into soldiers and those were his own.

"There are files on his computers showing The Green Goblin will strike at the crowd and make a scene using his super soldiers to attack and kidnap one of the Senators in attendance. Senator Williams from New York, he's been on Norman's radar for years because of his disapproval of Norman's serum plan. Here's our plan, we go down to make sure that he won't so anything that will get civilians in trouble. I will take down a group of our own S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers do go along with you. The Captain, Widow, and Hawkeye will be on the ground level, Clover will cover from a nearby area and follow his trace using his cellphone and make sure he won't do anything drastic. Thor, Bruce and Iron Man will be back up in case of anything happening." Fury explained to all of us, having me shift my weight from one foot to another and looking over at Clint from the other side of the room. He looked over at me and I knew that Fury wanted to keep me out of the way of trouble for the first time since I came onto the team. I should be mad, since I knew I can handle myself when it came to something like this, but who was I to talk since I was still harboring a bruise on my cheek that made me look less of a monster and more of a human being once more.

"We need to make sure that when he strikes, we will put a stop to it before it gets out of our control." Fury said to me, we all nodded our heads to show we understood.

"Norman's gonna make this as big as he wants, and the bigger the scene the more publicity it's going to have." Tony said aloud to us from his spot next to me.

"You think he wants to frame someone in particular for this to keep his hands clean?" Steve asked aloud from next to Bruce and Natasha.

"Knowing his way of manipulation, probably." Tony replied back to him, having me think in my spot on how we were going to stop this guy.

"So, we go in, find the Senator, stop Norman from killing off half of Chicago, grab the serum from him, destroy it, and getting out in once piece." I explained aloud , seeing Fury look over at me and nodding his head. I nodded my head from my own explanation.

"Widow, Hawkeye and Steve will start out on the ground, then they'll divide. Widow fill find the Senator and grab him, Hawkeye will watch out for Norman with the S.H.I.E.L.D soldiers on the ground level, and the Captain will find the serum." Fury explained to us aloud and it had me look at the computer screen behind Fury, seeing Norman's face on the front. I wanted to take this guy down, making him suffer and know who he was messing with.

The Avengers.

* * *

It was another sunny day in Chicago, and the streets were filled people heading over to Pertilo Music Shell. I was walking in the crowd next to Clint, Natasha and Steve and we were going over to our areas before splitting off. All I can see were balloons, the tops of people's heads and the booming music coming closer and closer to us. We were in a strict schedule and we all had to have a good look out. Clint, Natasha, Steve and I were in street clothes, but I wore my backpack over my gray tank top and my sneakers on with my skinny jeans.

"Keep your eyes peeled for anything our of the ordinary. Clover, take you mark and give us the green light when you have him." Fury said aloud in our earpieces and I felt Clint squeeze my hand in his, silently tell me to be careful and watch out for myself. I squeezed him back, telling him the same as he brought up our hands and kissing mine lightly. I immediately broke off from the three of them, weaving through the crowd and getting up to one of the statues that was higher than the rest of the crowd and facing the stage. I climbed up onto the front of the statue, sitting indian style and making myself look like I was one of crowd. Wearing my Ray Bans I looked around to see the other three split off in the crowd as I pulled out my phone. I started clicking a few numbers and bringing it to my ear, trying to blend in as I saw a few other patrons sit with me on the lion statue and look on as well.

"Clover's in." I heard in my earpiece as I pulled out a camera I had in my backpack and started taking pictures. I took a few of the crowd, then of the stage seeing a DJ already up there playing electronic music. I could hear the music from the stage as I scanned the crowd with my camera lenses.

_This is how I show my love_

_I made it in my mind because_

_I blame it on my A.D.D. baby_

_This is how an angel cries_

_I blame it on my own sick pride_

_Blame it on my A.D.D. baby_

I saw some movement along the side of the crowd and saw that they were soldiers, Osborn's soldiers. I clicked on a button on my camera, switching it video mode and then scanning them some more.

"Fury, you getting this?" I asked him aloud in my earpiece, seeing the patrons that are on the same statue as me sitting on top of the lion as I was on the bottom. I was out of earshot from them.

"Got it Clover. Keep your eyes peeled and find Osborn." He replied back to me as I looked some more. I then saw something on the left side of the concert. There were booths set up on higher stages and people inside. I zoomed in some more, looking and seeing they were in business suite and saw him, finally. Norman was talking to some of the associates in his suite, looking as happy as ever. I looked a few people down from them and saw one of them was the senator, we were looking for. He was talking to some other Senators in attendance and I snapped a shot of him.

"I have eyes on the Senator." I said to Fury over my earpiece.

"Affirmative. Widow, make your way over to the booths and find a spot to stay put." Fury reported as I scanned the crowd some more. Over to my left I saw Norman walking over to the stage with a bunch of the business men, including the Senator. I wanted to go over there and see if I can get a closer look s to what they were about to do, but I knew Fury was going to yell at me for loosing my spot. I placed my camera down and hacked on my cellphone to get into Norman's phone. I got onto his phone, making it so that I can hear him from his phone being in his breast pocket of his jacket.

"_Everyone in position?" _I heard him ask over to what appeared to me one of his soldiers and I followed him with my eyes from my spot.

"_Yes sir." _I heard back in the speaker and I stood up from my spot, seeing the patrons on the statue with me stand as well and the music stopping. Everyone was facing the main stage now as I kept my ear to the phone.

"We want to thank you for coming out to this concert here in Chicago. We also like to thank our fellow Senators and business heads for getting this concert going and helping raise money for our organization." The announcer said aloud and I heard the crowd cheer out loud. I looked around in the crowd, first seeing Natasha near the side of the stage, her eyes on the Senator. Going from her to the middle, seeing Clint in the middle towards the front of the crowd with a few of our soldiers behind him in their own street clothes. He was looking straight ahead as I looked from him around the crowd trying to find the Captain.

"I would personally like to recognize one of our Senators from New York, Adam Williams, who helped pass the bill on clean energy last weekend in Congress!" the announcer said aloud, having me see our Senator wave at the crowd with a big smile on his face as the crowd cheered for him. Norman was right behind him, a smile was on his face.

"And I would also like to thank Norman Osborn, with his help and financial contribution for making this concert possible, along with helping pass the bill!" the announcer ended, having me see Norman wave at the crowd and saw his sinister smile.

"Stand your ground, he has something up his sleeve." I heard Fury say in my ear and I saw Norman and Williams walk up to the front of the stage next to the announcer. I saw him give the microphone to Williams who smiled at the crowd. Before he could speak, I saw something fly high above me and I looked up for a moment, seeing nothing then in the sky and then looking forward once more and hearing the Senator talk to the crowd with a big smile on his face. The crowd seemed to like him, since they were cheering for him.

"Widow, as soon as he gets off the stage, grab him and get him somewhere safe." I heard Fury say to Widow, having me look over to her and seer getting closer to the stage. I then saw Norman walk up to the front of the stage and start talking to the crowd as well, talking about clean energy and how we can use it in society. I knew he was going to give that to the crowd and hide what he really wanted to do. But then he said something that made me stand straight up and clench the phone in my hand.

"Let me show you how this works, shall I?" Norman asked aloud, making me look behind him and the people on the stage. I saw the black curtain that was hanging fell to the floor and I saw a machine that made Schmit's go to shame. I looked at with with wide eyes and horror on my face. He was about to do what he did to himself and the soldiers.

Enhance the crowd.

Within seconds everything happened at once. I saw people running around on the stage and the crowd running backwards to get out. As soon as they did this I saw Norman's soldiers shoot that crowd and keep them in the area as our soldiers left Clint and went to fight them off. Screams were heard all around as people were starting to run away from the scene. Flashes of blue were seen here and there, making me believe that it was from the machine and I knew it was starting.

"We need to get that machine to stop before it activates." I heard Widow say in our communicators as I threw on my backpack and jumped down from the statue, running on the outside of the area where there were mostly trees and a few people running away. I sprinted as fast as I could, trying to get there and stop the machine.

"Clover, think you can take that thing down?" I heard Fury me over the earpiece. I smiled as I got closer to the stage.

"I'm on it." I replied aloud as I dodged a soldier shooting me with one of the blue rays from the machine. I saw him run towards me, having me hit him in the neck and grab the gone before he fell. I held it in my hand, feeling the light weight in my hand as I ran some more towards the stage.

"I have the Senator, getting back to safety." I heard Widow said into the earpiece as I stopped in my tracks, seeing Norman standing alone on the stage and smiling. I saw that he had a new feature on his face, thanks to me. A Large scar was down his eye, making it look like a thin line but it was clearly seen. I saw him at the face of the stage where he looked at the chaos on the ground floor. Soldiers were fighting soldiers, the crowd was trying to get out and the machine was about to work. I ran to the back of the stage and took out my gadget in my backpack, hopping onto the stage and kneeling down in front of the machine.

It was so complex that it made me feel so insignificant. It was the two floors high, a big cube of energy that looked so powerful. There was a large panel in the back of the stage in front of me, making me get to work on it as I tried to shut it down. I can still hear the gun fire go off in front of the stage and the screams were hitting me in the chest. Those screams made me want to work faster than before, faster and harder as i then felt a gun being placed at the back of my head. I stopped what I was doing and placed my hands up next to me.

"Get up slowly." I head behind me, making me see the reflection from the panel. There were two of them, making me think of how I was going to get out of this situation and get out alive. I placed my hands near my neck and as I raised them, I took out a knife that I had stowed in my sleeve of my right arm. I kept my eyes on the reflection of the panel, seeing them both look at me and wait for me to follow their orders. I was about to strike at one of them, until I saw one of them being sweated to the side by something that I couldn't see. Was it a string of some sort? The other soldier looked behind him for a split second to see what happened and I shot up, whirled around and threw the knife at him. He fell to the floor and I stood in front of a young man with maroon hoodie on.

It was him.

He stood in front of me, wearing the same thing he wore when we first met, and I saw him take off his hoodie for me to see his face completely. He was younger than me, maybe in his early twenties and had a young face. He harbored brown hair that was wild around his face and brown eyes, a lanky body and breathing heavily in front of me.

"Is it going to be a regular thing, me saving you for almost getting killed?" He asked me, his voice was younger of course and sounded a bit smooth for his age. I saw another soldier runnig up behind the boy and I threw out my gun that I had in my hand, shooting him in the head and seeing him fall to the floor. I saw the boy look behind him at the fallen soldier and then back at me, with a small smile on his face.

"Okay, never mind." he said back to me, then looking up at the machine and then jumping up to land on top of the machine. When he jumped I saw that he himself had something going through his system, because he jumped at least fifteen feet in the air and landing with ease like he was ballerina.

"Wait!" I said aloud, seeing him look back and down at me. I took in a breath, wanting to ask him so many thing but we were trying to stop Osborn from killing thousands of innocent people.

"Who are you?" I asked him aloud, seeing him smile down at me before jumping off to the front of the stage. He said his name, just two words that made him sound so normal. But since when was he normal when he could do things that no normal person can do.

"Peter Parker."


	23. Still Mad At Me?

As soon as he jumped over the machine, I looked back in front of me and saw I still needed to fix the machine to stop it. I went back to work, forever grateful at this Peter Parker than came to help out. But how was Fury going to fell about this? I finished fixing the machine, taking out the disk that was inside and placing it in my pocket. This disc was what was needed to make the machine go and it had all of the technology he needed. I placed it in my back pocket and was running over to the front of the stage.

"Who is that fighting Norman?" I heard in my earpiece, hearing that it was Clint. I saw Peter Park fighting Norman, who had a good upper hand with him. I was about to go help him when I saw Peter kick him hard, having him fly against the stage wall and hit it.

"He's good." I heard the Captain say aloud as I looked out in front of me and saw less and less of the crowd. I saw key people fighting: Clint taking on two people at one time with his hand to hand combat, Thor with four of them, and Iron Man with two. I didn't see Bruce, making me think that he was not needed for something like this. Good, because this was about to get real nasty from the look of it. He must be helping Fury back at Helicarrier.

"Where's the Senator?" I said aloud in my earpiece, hoping someone would hear me as I looked around me to find Black Widow.

"Widow brought him to us and he is safe. Do you have what we need?" Fury asked me aloud as I looked behind me and saw two soldiers coming my way. I ran off the stage, landing on my feet and running into the chaos that was the battle. They ran after me as I bolted as fast as I could through the crowd of fighting.

"Yes!" I replied aloud as I looked behind me once more, seeing them follow me and I made my way through the chaos and fights breaking out around me. I looked behind me again, seeing one of them throw up a gun at me and was about to shoot. We were passing by Clint and his sparing with another soldier. He took down his soldier, threw up his hand and clothes-lined the soldier, seeing him fly in the air and fall back down unconscious. As he did this I threw out the gun in my hand and shot the second soldier in the head. Clint ran over to me and I could see he was getting beaten up pretty bad.

"You okay?" He asked me out of breath, having me nod my head in return to him. He smiled slightly and we both looked up at the stage, seeing Peter fighting the now Green Goblin.

"Who is he?" He asked me aloud in curiosity in his eyes. I smiled at the spot, seeing Peter Parker land on his back and nail him hard in the back of his neck.

"Peter Parker." I replied back to him, seeing him look down at me and I looked back at him. Before he could say anything else, I heard a gunshot and three more men were running our way. We both bolted into a run, not slowing down for one second.

"I need to find a computer and upload this to Fury!" I yelled at him as we ran across a long stretch of green grass. I heard gunfire behind me and we both ran faster towards the buildings in the city. The closer we got the closer I felt myself towards something bad happening to both myself and Clint. I tried to think of a way for the both of us to get out of this in one piece. Who knows what is happening to the rest of the team, and Peter.

"I'm having Jarvis searching the area for the nearest computer near you." I heard Iron Man say in our earpieces as we got onto concrete and ran across a intersection. As we got on the sidewalk, dodging people as we went, I heard another gunshot in the air and people around us screaming. This was going to get hairy as he ran faster. I saw people trying to move away from us and others were standing in the way, making it harder for us to weave in and out of the way.

"Search faster Stark!" I heard Clint yell in annoyance as he grabbed my hand in his. We turned the corner and almost got hit by a yellow cab flying down the street and heading right towards us. I jumped in the air as Clint rolled out of the way, hitting the building wall as I landed on the hood of the taxi. Immediately I heard gunfire behind me and I whirled around, seeing now 6 men after us. I hopped off the Taxi, grabbed Clint by the hand once more and we bolted again, hearing the soldiers trying to get around the stopped taxi.

"Two blocks South, a business building has computers on the 25th floor, do you guys need backup?" I heard Iron Man yell aloud at us as we turned a corner going south. I grabbed another explosion gadget from my side pocket of my backpack and threw it behind me, hearing it go off and metal shattering. There must of been at least 3 of them falling to the ground behind us.

"Nope, we can handle it. Stay where you are and finish off the soldiers there, and help Peter." I said aloud to Iron Man as we saw the building he was talking about. It looked rather new, slanted on the side and perfect glass windows. We ran inside and over to the elevator, not looking back to see if we were being followed by anyone that survived that explosion I gave them. I looked up at the panels, seeing the numbers lighting off after every floor.

"I'll cover you and you upload the disc to Fury." Clint said aloud as he pulled out his gun that was hidden in his pocket. I nodded my head in agreement and took in a deep breath.

"Nearest computer if through the doors and on the left side of the room." Iron Man explained to me as we reached the 25th floor and the doors opened. We both walked out, guns at the ready and looked around to see another set of doors in front of us, "And may I ask why this kid is helping us?"

"Would you rather have no not help us?" I asked him over the earpiece as we opened the doors again. It was a regular office, a nice desk with chairs and a bookshelf behind it. There was a large window giving a view of the city and right below it was where the part of the building became slanted outwards and was going down towards the streets of Chicago. I walked over to the computer, turning it on and started placing the disc in the computer. Clint had the doors locked and then walked over to the window, looking out as I started uploading the disc onto the address I tapped in.

"Upload is beginning Fury." I said aloud, knowing that he heard me as I hacked away some more. I saw the bar going bigger and bigger, making me smile as I looked over at Clint, seeing him walk over to the door where we came from and checking the locks on them.

"We have a plane ready to take you up and get you out of there once you're done. We also picked up Peter Parker with us." Fury said to me as I saw it was about to be finished when there was distant gunshots. Both Clint and myself looked up from our spots and walked over to the window, looking down at the street. There were at least 20 more soldiers coming into the building and I looked back at Clint.

"How do we get out of here?" I asked him as I ran back to the computer, seeing it fully uploaded, "You got it Fury?"

"Got it all Clover, now get out of there." I heard him say as I got the disc out of the computer in time to hear the soldiers coming out of the elevator. I instantly kicked down the computer in front of me, only because I knew it was going to be searched and if they would find anything that would be the end of us and our plan. The computer was destroyed on the floor and had sparks fly out of as Clint shot at the window, seeing the glass shatter in front of him. He then looked back at me, making me glare at him since I knew what he wanted to do. This was risky, real risky. We were about to slide down the side of a building and try to be alive when we reach the bottom.

"I hate you." I said to him in almost a deathly tone, walking over to him and peering over the side, having my head out and seeing the tilted side of the building. It was going to be like going down a slide of some way, but there was concrete waiting for us at the bottom, not sand.

"It'll be fun." He replied back to me in a smirk, taking out another gun from his jacket and tweaking it so that there was a hook on the other end of it. I glared at him, and then at the door, knowing that any second they would be coming through the door and shooting for dear life.

"You call this fun? You and I are going to have to talk about this later." I replied back to him, seeing him smile at me as the door was gunned down. I saw a few soldiers come through as I threw up the disc in the air in the middle of the office. As it was flying in the air, I threw up my gun and shot it three times, seeing the CD shatter into pieces on the floor and Clint pull me out of the building. I felt the stomach dropping feeling as we fell for 2 seconds, then hitting the side of the building roughly and started to slide.

I tried to move my body to face forward, feet first and still stay close to Clint as we slide on the side of the building, looking up and hear them try to shoot us down from their spot. I then saw one of the window far in front of me being shattered and having me slide over to the left, missing the broken window barely and then Clint doing the same. They were trying to get us to fall into the building, but we dodged the open areas. The wind was rushing through my hair and making it hard to steer as I tried to get back forward again. But I saw we were getting closer to the edge where it was going to do straight down, nothing but air to the concrete floor of Chicago. I slide over to Clint as he threw up his special gun, shooting it and having me see the hook fly out with rope behind it still attached to the gun. As a soon as we felt the hook attach to a floor, Clint immediately wrapped his one good arm around me under my backpack and I clung onto his waist as hard as I could, feeling me go over the edge and go into feel fall towards the bottom of the building.

We were falling pretty fast and I tried to figure out we were going to ever stop. I then felt the rope jerking us to slow down and as we slowed, I saw the sidewalk getting closer to us. But we were going too fast and I we were at least 10 feet from the ground when the roped snapped. I felt Clint kick the side of the wall, launching us away from the building and towards the street, feeling him wrap his arm round my head as I ducked against his chest. I thought we were going to hit hard concrete, but I felt the opposite.

Softness. I felt us stopped after rolling align something soft and the both of us were still wrapped up in each other. One of his arms around my head and the other holding my waist under my backpack. Both of my arms around his chest and clinging onto him, somewhat shaking from what just happened. We should of been dead from what happened, but we both looked up form our spots at each other, then around us to see what we landed in. I then heard Clint sigh as I looked up at him.

"Still mad at me?" I heard him as, as we were both laying in the grass as a park across the street from the building we nearly destroyed.


	24. Never Going to Break

We both made it back on Helicarrier from one of the planes that got us. We both were bruised up, worn out from running and some blood from the shattered glass that went into our skin. But as soon as we got back on Helicarrier, I was beyond glad to be safe and sound for a moment or two. I looked over at Clint, seeing him smile at me as he took my hand and we both walked into Helicarrier from the hanger and over to the main room. I saw the rest of the team there, all worn out except for Bruce who was taking to Peter Park. Peter then looked over at me, Bruce as well as as approached the group.

"We all in one piece?" Clint asked aloud as the group looked over at the both of us.

"Yeah, thanks to this guy here." Captain said aloud, pointing to Peter who shifted awkwardly in his spot next to Bruce.

"It was nothing really." he said aloud to the group, but I saw Thor shake his head.

"Nonsense good fellow! You have hoped in our mission, we are forever grateful for you." he said aloud to Peter, making me look over at Thor with a small smirk on my face.

"As much as I don't really approve of the way he said it himself, thanks for helping out." Tony said aloud, looking over at Peter and seeing him smile in his spot. I could tell he was a bit shy when it came to something like this.

"Well, I've fought against the Green Goblin for years, making sure he doesn't do anything." He explained to us, having us all looked a bit shock. They are enemies together? He's fought him himself? No wonder he knew how to fight him. It made me realize that he's been fighting Norman since he was a teenager. What did he have that made him such a aspect and threat to the green Goblin.

"Peter Parker, we have been following you for years now since you went public." Fury said about to him as he stood in front of him, having the rest of us look at him with confusion on our faces and wonder what he was talking about.

"What do you mean you were following him?" Natasha asked aloud with a hint of anger in her tone.

"It's confidential, Widow. We were only watching in case we needed him in a time of need, such as now." Fury explained to us as we looked from him to Peter. I was even more curious next to Clint as to why he was being watched form Fury. Was he just as good as I? Was there something else there?

"If you don't mine me asking, what is it that you can do?" Bruce asked aloud next to him, seeing Peter look from Bruce to Fury. Fury nodded his head, as if he was approving what was going to happen. Peter then pulled up his sleeve, showing a gadget on his wrist that was slick and small. There was a button from the gadget attached to a small strip and was resting on top of his palm. He held his amy out in front of him, aiming high at the ceiling behind Clint and I. He then touched the button with his middle and ring finger that as rolled back, seeing a length of what looked like webbing coming out of the gadget and hitting the wall.

The room was silent as he placed his sleeve back down to cover the gadget, having all of us look at firs the webbing on the wall and then at him with shocked looks on their faces. How did he do that? Was it something he had?

"The locals give him a name." Fury said from his spot, seeing Peter look at each of us when he said it. We all waited to hear his name, what he would be called to those in Chicago.

"Spider Man."

* * *

I stood at the door of Clint's room, seeing him look at himself in the mirror and at the damage on his face. I could tell he was worn out from what happened to us earlier, something we really didn't expect to happen to either of us. We knew the risk, but that was too big of a risk for us to see. Thankfully he saved us both that day, and I wanted to thank him before I did anything else. It was late that night, so I was in my pajamas that consisted of a green shirt, a black cotton jacket over that and black boxer shorts with no shoes. My hair was up in a ponytail and some bangs were in my eyes, making me wish I french braided them.

He was wearing a grey cotton v neck shirt, with black pajama pants and no shoes on his feet. I smiled, thinking of him as handsome with his hair tossed in the way it was and I saw him look at me through the mirror reflection.

"You seem better." He said to him, still looking through the mirror and having me look down at my folded hands in front of me.

"Well, you did save us from almost being killed a few times, so it was your doing." I replied back to him, looking back up at him and seeing him smile from his spot. We were silently for a moment as I saw him think in his spot, making me tilt my head slightly from my spot on the other side of the room.

"For the first time in a long time, I was genuinely scared today." He said suddenly from his spot and I looked at him with some concern. He turned to finally face me from his spot, his blue eyes looking back at me telling me that he was genuinely serious from what he just said to me.

"Why were you scared?" I asked him, folding my hands in front of me and seeing him shift in his spot. I could still see his face was filled with sweat from today, along with a bit of dirt that he didn't get off and some emotion behind it as well.

"Because I had to make sure….that you were going to be okay and not me." As soon as he said this, it was like there was a ton of bricks hitting me in the chest and making me want to cry. He was more concerned about my well bring than his own, and that scared me more than anything. I didn't want to him get himself hurt or killed because of me, that was selfish. And I knew for a fact that Clint deserved more than that, more than sacrificing his own life for mine.

"Stop thinking like that, Clint." I said to him in a stern tone, walking over to him finally and placing both of my hands on his face to frame him. He looked at me directly and I could see the fear in his eyes, "I hate seeing you beat yourself up like this over something you know you cannot control."

"But I know I can control what happens to you." He said to me in a stern tone, having me feel my stomach drop as he placed he hand on my bruised cheek that was still healing.

"Clint, it's…" I started, but he shook his head.

"Listen to me, please." he said to me in almost a ordering tone, having me do quiet as he took in a deep breath and look directly in my eyes.

"I didn't have control when you were having the seizure in San Francisco, or when you were kidnapped by Schimt. Not to mention when you got this." He explained, tracing my bruise and looking at it for a mere moment before looking back at me, "I'm a man who wants control. I want anything in my life that will make me happy and satisfied. And something changed in me when I met you, something shifted and reminded me that I can't be in control all the time. And that scares me, it scares me knowing that I can't protect you from everything that wants to either hurt you or take you away from me."

I shook my head at him, trying to show that what he was saying was silly. Why would be think such things since I knew I could defend myself.

"Why would you say this?" I asked him in almost a whisper, not knowing what else there was to say to him. He looked at me, his eyes were so blue and so filled with love that it was making me feel like I could fly by just looking at him. The next four words out of his mouth made me freeze everything in my brain and body,making everything logical in my brain go out the door.

"Because I love you, and I'll be damned if I ever loose you." He said it in such a way that made my heart both burst and break. He told me he loved me, something I never thought would ever come out of his mouth ever. I was never loved like this before, with protection and happiness morphed together to make what we had together. I was smiling so wide at him, leaning in and kiss him softy on the lips. He wrapped both of his arms around my waist and I pulled away, seeing him look back at me with a new pair of eyes pouring into mine.

"I love you too." I replied back to him in a whisper, seeing him kiss me back a bit harder. There we were, kissing in his room and my hands roaming in his hair and tugging slightly as I felt him zip down my jacket slowly, never stopping once from kissing me. His kisses were making me go mad with love for him, feeling lightheaded and happy as I felt his hair and took off my jacket as he picked me up with both of his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist as I threw away my jacket, finding his shoulders under his cotton shirt and his neck with my fingers. I have forgotten how strong he was, seeing it in his muscular arms and chest as I places my hands anywhere I could. Our kisses were getting more intense with passion as he walked over to the bed, still holding me with his head tilted up to catch my lips against his. I felt his tongue touch mine, making me moan slightly as I pulled at his hair and his fingers were on my bare thighs. Everywhere was on fire when it came to contact on my skin, and he was to blame. His skilled fingers making my skin crawl as I pulled his shirt over his head, breaking out kiss for a second before he dived back to kiss me. One of his hands went to my hair, pulling out the ponytail as I felt my hair falling down around my face and shoulders. We've only gone so far in kissing, but I had a feeling we were going to go farther tonight.

I was okay with it.

He hovered over me as he placed me on the bed gently, making me glide my fingers over his chest and hear him groan against my lips as I did so. His kisses went to my neck, making me tilt back my neck and close by eyes. Everything that I was feeling intensified as his lips were against my neck and collarbone. We were so far gone with each other, in love with each other that it was no longer a question if we were going to be together. As I placed my hands on his bareback, feeling his muscle under my fingers and our bodies became one that night, I knew a it was fact that the both of us were made for each other. I had no regret with what we were about to do, nothing was going though my head except love for Clint and how I wanted to show it to him that night.

Our love was never silly or playful, though we had those moments. Our love was of protection, mutual respect, and a serious commitment to one another.

It was never going to break.


	25. Really Loved Me

I woke up seeing the ceiling above me, hearing nothing but the distant humming of one of Hawkeye's computers on his desk. The air was crisp and cool as I reached down to feel where the blanket went. I then froze, realizing that I was naked in Hawkeye's bed. Well, half naked, since my was wearing my black bra again. I must of placed it back on before I fell asleep after what we did. It wasn't that I was embarrassed, far from it actually. It was that I was beyond happy from what we did together mere hours before, the two of us together.

We made love.

I can recall what happened in my head: being in his arms and feeling all of him at once made my skin crawl and my head fall back in ecstasy. I never thought I could feel what I felt before with Clint, making me gasp and scream in the ways that I did. Some would be embarrassed, and I should. But I wasn't which was odd and quite nice to me. Something about him holding me close, whispering my ear and his kisses on my skin was enough for me to die a happy woman.

I pulled up the bed sheet cover my chest and I smiled, thinking back on those moment hours before. I blushed in my spot, looking over and seeing Clint laying on his side, facing me with his eyes wide open and a small smile on his face. I didn't notice him there, thinking of how long he was staring at me. He wasn't wearing a shirt, having me see his bare chest and have a swelling feeling of passion for him all over again. His hair was messy, not his usual brown hair that he would usually have and his eyes were lighter this time. It must of been from the tinted blue that was in the room thanks to his computer screen that was humming away.

"How long have you been watching me?" I asked him, seeing him rest his head in his hand and his elbow on the bed, looking down at me with a smile still evident on his face.

"Not long enough." He replied, having me smile widely at him see his smile get bigger. I playfully punched him in his arm, hearing him chuckle from his spot next to me.

"You're such a sap." I said in a joking tone to him, seeing him act like he was hurt from it.

"You are so hurtful." he said to me, making me laugh next to him as I covered my face with my hands and tried to contain my laughter. It was a surreal moment, knowing that we were laughing with each other after what we just did hours before. I then sighed, putting my hands back to my sides and feeling Clint take one of them in mine very gently, not in the usual way he would hold my hand.

"I don't want to move from here." I said finally, seeing him shift from his spot to slightly hover over me, his lower body still next to me but his upper body moving over me and making me smile as he looked down at me. Both of his arms were on either side of my head as I traced his face with my hands.

"Neither do I. You're making it hard for me to get out of bed." He said to me, making me feel his skin next to his eyes and run my fingers through his hair.

"Do we have to get out of bed?" I asked him in almost a pathetic tone, seeing him smile down at me and giving me a long kiss on the lips. I sighed against his lips as he pulled away and touched the end of my hair with his thumb and finger.

"If we stay here, Fury will be even more furious than he already is." Clint reminded me, having me sigh as I felt the bed sheet sliding down my chest slightly from moving around too much. I was fine laying there in my bra, since it was only Clint that was there with me, and we both were already past that point of privacy.

"Come away with me, after all of this is over." He said to me in a soft yet demanding tone, leaning down slightly and barely touching my nose with his and I smiled, seeing the content in his face and eyes. I traced his lips with my fingers, seeing him trap my thumb with his teeth and in return giggling from his antics. It sounded like he was kidding, yet he was serious at the same time.

"Where would we go?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow, seeing him smile down at me and roll back on his back and having me look over at him from my spot. He looked up at the ceiling, in deep thought as I rolled over to lay on my stomach and rest my chin on his shoulder, peering at him. Sometimes I wished I knew what he was thinking.

"I don't know, anywhere away from here." He said aloud, almost sounding like he was in a daydream. I smiled from seeing how thoughtful he was being with me. I kissed his bare shoulder and looked up with him at the ceiling, still having my head on his shoulder.

"Middle East?" I suggested, seeing him scoff and shake his head.

"Too warm." he replied to me aloud, making me take his hand in mine that was in between the two of us.

"Iceland?" He asked me aloud, making me shake my head from my spot next to him.

"Too cold." I replied back to him, seeing him nod his head and then I thought of it. The perfect place for the both of us as I smiled from position.

"Ireland." I said aloud, seeing him look over at me from his spot and having me look back at him.

"Ireland? Trying to get back to your roots are you?" He asked me with a hint of a joke in his tint, having me giggle and look back at him.

"Not only that, but I've been wanting to go since I was little." I explained to him, seeing him smile as he placed a kiss on my forehead and making me shiver on the spot. We were quiet for a moment as we stared at each other, content with what was going to happen to us in the future. Could we pull it off, go off the grid for a couple of months or even a year of just the two of us.

"You really wanna leave?" I asked him with curiosity, seeing him look up at the ceiling for a moment before going back to me.

"After being on so many missions, I need to get away for awhile and just be with you." He said in a simple voice, not making it too complicated or too complex. I knew he was telling the truth, and he did want to be away from it all for a while. He needed isolation again, being away from the people that would annoying him and anger him.

"It sounds like a plan to me, Hawkeye." I said to him, seeing him smile widely at me before leaning in close to almost touch my lips with his. He was back in his romantic mood again, making me feel giddy all over once more as I placed my hands around his neck and laced my fingers there. It was as fi I didn't want him to leave me or let me go.

"My dear Clover, when was the last time I told you that I loved you?" He asked me in a playful tone, both of his hands on my hips as I smiled seductively at him.

"About two hours ago I believe." I said to him, seeing him tilt his head as his fingers traced my hips slowly and in a lingering fashion.

"I'm long overdue." He replied, leaning in to kiss me.

* * *

It was late morning that morning, and after leaving Clint behind in his room to fix his bow and arrow I decided to walk around a bit, not wanting to go back to my room, But was mostly because I was still on cloud nine from what happened and I needed to get a distraction going through my head in order to be back to normal. But I someone standing in front of the large window of the main area, looking out to the bright sky. I walked over, seeing that it was Peter Parker, standing alone and looking out in the distance with his arms folded in front of him. He was in deep thought as I walked up to him, wrapping my jacket around my waist and smiled slightly at him. He finally looked over at me, having me see his young face and the seriousness in his eyes.

"Fury asked me to join the Avengers." He explained to me, having me nod my head as we both looked out into the sky. He sounded a bit shocked about it, that and scared at the same time.

"You sound surprised." I said to him, seeing him look over at me with a hint of confusion on his face.

"I never saw as myself big enough to be a part of something this big." He explained to me, a hint of pain in his voice I saw he was telling the truth.

"I never did either when I joined. Hell, the only reason why I was here in the first place was that fact that the guy who we were fighting literally wanted my brain. They were almost babysitting me." I said to him, seeing him look at me from my right side, "But as I stayed with this team, I knew this was bigger than me and that I needed this team more then they needed me."

"I don't know how I'm gonna be compared to these guys." Peter said in a defeated tone. I smiled at him, shrugging as I thought back to when I first came to the group.

"You're just as good as we are, and the rest of them are going to see it. Trust me." I said to him, seeing him smile slightly in his spot. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he spoke again, but this time in a lighter tone.

"I've never worked with people, do hopefully I won't be letting you guys down with what I do and how I do it." Peter said aloud in a shrug, making me smirk from his remark.

"Well, you and Tony are going to get along real nicely." I said in a joking tone as he laughed and we both looked behind us to see Fury walking over to the both of us, having his hands behind his back in the usual fashion.

"I take it you told her the good news?" He asked Peter aloud, seeing Peter nod his own head.

"Good, we need to discuss some things between you and I." Fury said to me, having a raise a eyebrow at him as I followed him over to round table that was set up in the main room. I sat down at the table, seeing Fury stand across from me at the table. To my right on the table was a stack of papers, all looking like they were from some I was wondering what he wanted to talk about, and why he wanted to talk to me alone with no one else around.

"I just received documents from the USA government, concerning your parents and what they left behind in their will." Fury said aloud, walking over to the stack of papers that was already on the table and grabbing the file on the top. He slide it across the table over to me and I grabbed it before it fell off the table onto the floor. I was now confused as to what my parents would ever leave me. I had nothing of real worth when it came to leaving something behind with them, no car, no money. I opened the file and looked through some of the paperwork, thinking that I was going to get something very little and of no value from the two of them. But I didn't and I was shocked in my chair when I saw what I was give, printed in the will.

"They…they gave me a house." I said aloud in almost a broken tone, seeing the deed of the home that I was born and raised in, a picture of the house and all of the paperwork behind it. It was true, I had received the house according to their last will and testament. I never thought they would do something like this, something this big and meaningful. I saw something behind it, it was a written letter. Moving the papers around, I took out the letter and held it in my hands as I saw Fury shift in his spot.

"They sent that to you but it was interfered by Schmit before it got to you. We received it from his home base after we defeated him." Fury explained to me aloud, seeing me nod my head to show that I understood what he said. I was too out of it, holding the last letter my mother wrote before she was killed. As I read it, I knew I was so wrong in treating them harshly and not wanting their love.

_Dear Emily, _

_If you are reading this, then you know that we are on the run now. We have been contacted by a name from S.H.I.E.L.D. who informed us that we are in danger. Your father and I had no time to pack, we only had to run. I asked if I could write a letter to you and he agreed to get to you as fast as he could._

_First and foremost, you need to know that we never stopped loving you. You have been the pride in out family, though we never showed it properly. I regret to say that I never showed you the love that you deserved. You were our joy, and we thank you for letting us see who you really became: a strong woman. It must of skipped a generation and landed on you, not me. I admit that I was never loving you enough, never caring enough. And for that I beg for your forgiveness. _

_We are leaving you the house and all of our money, we know it'll be in good hands. By doing this, we accept our future, knowing it will be short. You need to know that none of this was your fault, You are a wonderful woman, caught in such a cruel world. We tried to protect you as much as we could, so this is us protecting you. We had to run in order to make sure you were free._

_Wherever you are now, stay strong. Your father wants me to tell you to never stop running, never stop fighting, and above all: never stop thinking. You have a beautiful mind, a beautiful and complex mind that it would be a crime to waste it. I love you with all my heart, my beautiful daughter. I only wish that if I could take anything back, it would be my reflection of you. _

_We love you, and we will meet again._

_Your mother. _

I dropped the letter onto the table, holding my head in my hands and felt tears streaming down my face. The letter became wet from my tears, almost smearing the cursive of my mother's writing. I felt so much pain and anger in my chest knowing that they were thinking of me when they fled the home. The thought of never seeing them or hearing from them again was killing me, making my stomach go into knots and my head feel heavy. They left me everything they had in order to make sure I had a future, that I was safe. How could I think such things about them before? It was the guilt that was making me sob at the table. There was so guilt in my system that I thought nothing could fix it. Nothing made sense anymore. I didn't see Fury leave me alone in the main carrier, but I wasn't caring about that at the moment. My heart was breaking, my soul was crushed, and all I had left was the thought that my parents truly loved me.

Really loved me.


	26. He's Starting A War

I sat alone in my room that whole day, looking at the letter in my hands as I tried to get through what was going on inside my chest. It was still gnawing away at my me, making me feel like the worse person on the face of the earth. The feelings of pain and guilt were washing over me like a title wave, making me wish that I was merely dead than what just happened to me. My hair was hiding my haggard face, since I felt so miserable I didn't wash my face nor did I comb my own hair.

They fled for me, knowing that if they were caught, they would have to tell where I was. They didn't want that, not for me, their daughter. No, they wanted to hide and run for their lives knowing that they could die at any moment only to save my life. I never wanted that for them, never wanted them to make that sacrifice for me. I felt so ashamed and so foolish for how I treated them.

"You waited to tell her this, why?" I heard outside my room and I looked behind me slightly. Fury was standing with Natasha, Tony and Steve and I could tell they heard what happened and were rather pissed at Fury. I didn't want them to be mad for me, let alone pick a fight for me. I did want to confront Fury, ask him why he would wait to give this to me now rather than right when he got the information and will. Was there something behind it, something that he wanted to do in order to keep me here with them. That sounded sick, too sick for my lacking and for Fury.

"I was waiting for the opportune moment to give it to her." Fury replied aloud, making me tilt my had in confusion as to what he said to them.

"The opportune moment, as in what when she's about to be killed?" Natasha asked in a bitter tone, almost on the point of yelling at him.

"You had no right to hold something like that from her, and you know it." Steve said aloud, making me think of what was being held from him, so he must of known about that, something behind held from him.

"She was not ready to receive this kind of information." Fury argued back, keeping his voice down as I tried to block the conversation out of my head.

"No one is ever ready for that kind of information, Fury. This goes to show that you will hide whatever you can from the team in order to keep your hands clean." Tony said to him in his serious tone, having me finally look behind my shoulder at the four of them outside my room. I saw Fury ad Tony almost going toe to toe, Tony showing no sign of backing down to Fury. It made me think that they've had a argument almost like this before, with Fury hiding things from us.

I didn't hear the door open, since I was too far gone in my own thoughts of the letter in my hand, nor did I hear footsteps behind me as I felt the letter seep through my fingers and hit the floor lightly. But I felt a hand touch my back, having me know that hand and I suddenly felt more sadness coming over me like a wave. I curled against the hand, feel the other hand touch my arm and slide down to hold my shaky cold hand in his. He must of overhead what was going on, skipped going to the confrontation outside and came in to find me.

"Come here." I heard next to me, not demanding but in reassurance and love. I instantly molded into Clint's embrace, one of his arms wrapping around my back and the other around my front to hook onto my shoulder. I rested my head on his chest, feeling his chin on the top of my head and his hands on my skin. I felt only a bit better, not a whole lot though. Why did I feel safeness in his arms, or when he spoke aloud to me? It was some kind of hold he had on me.

"Natasha told me what happened." He said to me aloud, but I sad nothing as I felt him rub my arms with his hands. I knew he was trying to make me feel better, and I thanked him silently for it. No matter how much I tried to make it better in my head, I was still in pain.

"How could I have known they were going to do something like that, for me?" I asked aloud in almost a defeated tone in my voice.

"You couldn't have, you had no ties to them." Clint reminded me aloud, and I knew he was trying so hard to reassure me.

"I could of saved them somehow." I tried to reason aloud, thinking of what I could of done in order to make sure they were alive at least. I had knowing that I couldn't of saved them, the mere thought of not being able to save them gave me the concept of no longer being in control. I felt Clint shift from holding me to being in front of me, squatting down to my level and having me look down at him from my spot. He had seriousness in his eyes as he pushed back my hair to see my face more.

"I remember being told something by this woman once, something I thought was really powerful and truthful." Clint said saying aloud to me, placed his hand on my neck and rubbing my cheek with his thumb slightly.

"She told me, that it's not the end of the world to not have control. Having control is effective, but it's the person who is stronger than control." He said to me, having me smile slightly at him and see that he was true. The control was nice to have, but it's what I did with my, my emotion and attitude was more important than the control itself.

"I don't want you to think about not having control, you understand me? You are stronger than that, and I'm not saying that on my own. Everyone else on this God forsaken ship thinks you are strong too, and there is nothing you can't handle." He said to me in more of a stern tone, having me completely understand now that he was never going to give up on me. He was going to stick with me, come hell or high water.

"I don't deserve you." I mumbled, seeing him smile and lean up to kiss my forehead in a loving way.

"I think the same way about you sometimes. Looks like you're stuck with me." He said in a joking tone as I looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. We both up got up completely from our spot, standing in front of each other as I rubbed my eyes with my fingers.

"I am such a mess." I replied aloud, breathing in deeply and hearing Clint chuckle in front of me, having me look up at him a questioning look.

"Well I think you look beautiful, but it might be the lightning." He said in a joking tone, making me smile at him and playfully punch him in the shoulder. He laughed a bit louder this time and I smiled widely at him. Leave it to serious Clint to make things lighter in the end. I felt much better then, having a light heart because of Clint .

"Why can't you be like this all the time?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow, pulling my hair in a ponytail. Clint only sighed as he framed my face in his hands.

"Because you make me act like this, so it's your fault." He said back to me, kissing me softly on the lips and I smiled through the kiss, pulling away and taking his hand in mine. Both Clint and I looked out of my room through the window, seeing the four of them still at it with argument and Clint looked back at me.

"You ready to head out there?" He asked me, seeing me nod my head and he clenched my hand in his a bit tighter. He was my anchor in this, and I was grateful for him. We both walked out of the room, seeing the four of them stop talking to each other and look over at me. There I was, still looking haggard from crying and lack of sleep, holding onto Clint tightly like I was about to be sweated away, but my face was calm and cool. No one spoke for a moment or two, before I took a big breath.

"It's in the past now, and we shouldn't talk about it anymore." I said cooly, having Clint look over at me with not disappointment or shock, but with content in his eyes as I spoke to the four of them, "I was a big shocked from the news. And yes, it was harsh how he did it, but I'm not going to let that ruin what I've been working for while being with this team."

"I do apologize for keeping that from you…for so long." Fury said to me, having me look over at him and see he was a bit sorry about it. I only smiled at him, knowing that it was wrong for me to have so much anger towards another person.

"Thank you." I merely replied to him, seeing him nod his head as I looked at the others. I saw they had sympathy for me, seeing it in their eyes and how they were facing me.

"If it is any consolation to you, I was about to hit this guy in his pretty face." Tony said aloud to me, pointing to Fury and seeing Fury glare at him with his good eye, "But, you know…..I didn't want to die."

"As heart warming as that is, I'm fine really. It was just…sudden is all." I said to him, seeing him smile his cocky smile at me as Fury's phone rang from his pocket. He picked it up and then closed it after a few seconds to his ear. Something ticked him off from those few seconds, as if it was the worst phone call he ever received in his life.

"I have a meeting with the council." He said aloud, walking away from the group. As soon as he turned the corner, I saw the mood shift in the group as I looked over at both Steve and Natasha.

"I still don't understand why he would hide something like that." Steve said aloud with a hint of annoyance found in his voice.

"And there are still things we don't know." Tony said aloud to us and I could tell he had to deal with something like this before, "How long do you think it'll take him to hide what he knows?"

"Who knows." Natasha merely replied as it was silent again with the five of us standing there. It was haunting got know that he would hide something from us, something that was go great importance. If what he was hiding from me was important, What else was there to hide?

What was he hiding?

* * *

Within the next few days I poured myself into my hacking and was making sure that my mind was on nothing but Norman Osborn, what he was doing and what he was going to do in the near future. I caught some of his camera systems in my computers, seeing him get heated with some of his associates about the disco being lost to his machine and that there was nothing they could do. It made me feel proud that I could do something just tot ice him off. It was people like him that I was on the Avengers, because people like them had no care about people in the world. Only for themselves and their own antics.

It seemed that Norman was going to sell his serum to other governments around the world so that soldiers can be super in strength, durance, speed, and other aspects. He wanted to make a profit out of it, well, that 's what it said on paper and on file as I hacked into his system. Making super soldiers for others to buy and use, that would make the ultimate war and the ultimate carnage.

Something didn't sound right.

Why would he care of he made a profit for the benefit of others? Was there something else up his sleeve? I saw that the top bidder was the German Government, who wanted the serum ten fold. Since they were the highest bidder, Norman was going to give it to them. He didn't want this to go public, he couldn't afford that. This was all quiet, well, as quiet as he wanted it to be.

I wanted to make it public.

"He wants to meet with the head of the German Government and the German Military to seal the deal." I explained to the team from my lab, three days after my breakdown ordeal. I was hacking for three straight days and was glad to get back to work. THe whole team was watching the computer screen, seeing that I was bringing up files and email between Norman and the head of Military for Germany.

"Something doesn't seem right with this." Fury said aloud as he walked closer to the screen, looking at the files from his spot.

"Selling it to the highest bidder, sounds like him alright." Tony said in almost a bitter tone.

"But the thing I don't get is this: why would he share it?" Steve asked aloud from standing next to Thor and Bruce. I raised a eyebrow at him, looking back at the files and thinking of the same thing from my spot. My arms folded in front of me, thinking of this like a puzzle piece than just a bunch of files.

"He's in it for himself, there has to be a catch." I heard Bruce say aloud, having me suddenly realize what was about to happen. I then walked over to the keyboard and typed in a few words, seeing the files shift around on the computer screen and then the one file that I needed being maximized in front of everyone.

"He wanted to meet face to face because he wants to not just give away his serum." I explained, highlighting the text that would shape this whole problem. I then turned and face him, seeing them all look at the computer screen behind me with shock on their faces.

"Norman Osborn will kill him, and then start a war between Germany and America."


	27. Gonna Be Hell

I knocked on the lab door, peeking my head in and seeing both Tony and Peter working away on some new gadget they wanted to use. We were going to strike at Norman right when he was about to strike at the Germany Military head in New York before anything else can come up. He was going to meet late that night in order to make the deal, and then somehow frame it on the Americans to start a war with them. It was going to be very rough for us to pull this off, and we needed more than just strength to make this work.

Tony turned around from his spot and then smiled at me, as Peter was perched on top of his stool with a gadget in his hand. Peter looked up at me and smiled from his spot on top of his stool.

"Ah, Clover. You got my message. Since we are going to go into this thing in a blaze of glory, we might as well go down with a bang." Tony said aloud as I walked into the lab and saw all that he was working on. There were bits and pieces of gadgets and materials on the tables, some empty chairs and his computer was filed with what looked like weapon improvements and modifications. This was his field: weaponry, and from what I was seeing he knew what he was doing ten fold.

"Now I'm a bit scared" I said to him aloud as he smiled and threw up in the air something that was rather small. I caught it in my hand, holding it with curiosity as I tried to figure out what it is. It was a bit small, fitting in the palm of my hand perfectly and very light weight.

"Think of it as a sonic screamer, to get the Green Goblin's machine to malfunction. According to Mr. Parker here, there are still some glitches to the suit that can be taking out with this." Tony explained to me, having me look from him to Peter. Peter merely smiled and shrugged.

"And this, is my personal favorite." Tony explained to me, showing me a new pistol that he picked up from the table next to him. Placing the gadget in my hand on the empty stool, I took that pistol gently and looked at it. To me it was a regular pistol and showing nothing real significant about it. However, Tony took it from my hand and smiled at me.

"This pistol gives off a unique flare. Think of it as a firework maker, and the UV rays can blind a person directly when shooting at them." Tony explained to me, making me smirk from the mere bought of using it on someone. It sounded rather magical to me, something out of a comic book.

"I made it for you." He said, making me look up at him with surprise and shock on my face. He shrugged and I knew he was trying to play it off as if it was another day in the park for him.

"Well, it's better than the old shotgun you use. This isn't the zombie apocalypse now is it?" He said aloud to me in his typical smirk. I raised a eyebrow at him from his remark against my weapon and I saw Peter smirk from his spot on the stool.

"Now when it comes to my shotgun, you best watch what you say." I said to him in a smirk, trying to make it sound serious. He only placed his hands in the air as if it was defense. We both were on the same page when it came to getting hints ready for the big fight with the Green Goblin. He smiled and placed a arm round my shoulder, leading the both of us out of the office.

"Don't blow up anything whilst I'm gone, Parker.' He said behind us as I saw Peter waved him off as he picked up another gadget to play with. I smiled from his remark as we both walked down the hallway together.

"Way to be nice to him, Stark. This new side of you, I'm liking it." I jokingly said to him, seeing the the both of us stopped in the middle of the hallway and faced each other.

"Yeah well, this is what happens for being on this ship for far too long." He said in a grunt as I smiled at him. He then raised a eyebrow at me, as if he stroke a marvelous idea in his brain.

"You know that kid has a big crush on you?" He asked me, making me look rather shocked at him as I placed my hands on my hips. It sounded so false, like Tony was making it up just to get a rise from me. But since when was I was master of how boys looked at me? It was a miracle that I saw Clint coming out of nowhere and now we were a couple.

"Since when?" I asked him almost a loud tone, keeping my voice down since I knew there would be soldiers walking back and forth down the hallway.

"Since he saved you from Goblin some time before." He replied back to me, making me surprised he was sounding like a young middle school kid with gossip on his tongue. I shook my head from the mere thought of this boy liking me. It sounded so silly in my eyes, though he was a nice young man.

"Does he know that I'm with Hawkeye?" I asked him in almost a groan, not wanting to deal with something like this. I saw Tony shove his hands in his pockets and smirk at me.

"I think he does, but let's not have him get a hint that he likes you. You don't want Hawkeye to put an arrow through his neck anytime soon now will you?" He asked me, making me freeze in my spot and look over at him with worried eyes. Was Clint a jealous man? Why would he be? I wasn't going to go after this guy and leave Clint behind, that was beyond stupid and reason.

"You think he would do that?" I asked him, almost sounding a bit surprised.

"Well, he did kill that one soldier at Schmit's escape from almost touching you. So, I would say Clint has a bit of an issue when it comes to other men looking at you." Tony explained to me, having me nod my head in agreement. Who was I to disagree? He would give death glares ever once in awhile when I wasn't looking, only to Tony when he would tease him.

"Yeah, that is true." I agreed with him, seeing him nod to his own explanation and ruffle his own hair. It was quiet for a moment or two between us, having me think of a new question for him to answer.

"You think Fury will let us go back down to New York before we go fight Osborn?" I asked him aloud from my spot, looking down slightly at the floor and thinking about what I just asked him. I had my arms folded in front of me, in deep thought.

"Why would be let us do that?" Tony asked aloud, having me look over at Tony and see the smile gone from his face. I could tell he was thinking of Pepper, someone I know he missed very much and wanted to be with. He was hard to read at time, but other times he was easy.

"You wouldn't want to spend one last time, with Pepper?" I asked him, seeing him look up and then at me with seriousness in his eyes. He's not new to this whole ordeal, saying goodbye to someone he might loose because of something he had to do. But I knew it was hard either way, every time was harder and harder. Luckily I ever had to deal with it, but Tony's a veteran in that department. We all would have to do something like this because of the fact that we might not come back. For me, there was just one other person I wanted to be with in order to go into this twice as strong and twice as willing.

Clint.

* * *

I stood by the window of Clint's room back down in New York. Fury wanted us to back back on ground level and stay there for the night, in case we wanted to make last minute arrangements with those we knew before we went in for the battle. I also knew that Tony went and asked him for the night off beforehand, because of out conversation. Thank goodness Fury agreed to it, making my hate for him become less and less. Tony went off to be with Pepper back at his tower, Bruce was going to make some phone calls to a couple of his old friends, Peter Parker wanted to see his good friend Gwen Stacey who was in New York at the time with friends. I knew Thor was going to contact Jane, but with Captain America it was a mystery.

It was late that night, having me see the city lights below us and the people walking to and from wherever they were going. I wondered if they were smiling at all, if their worlds and their lives were just pleasant enough to not have a care or worry. I sometimes wished I had a luxury, but I couldn't accord it.

Looking back behind me I saw Clint's living room. He only had a couch, a love seat with a coffee table in front of it, a small television set and a stack of files on the kitchen table near the last window on the wall. The big thing about his apartment was that it was filled with files and papers from jobs in the past, jobs he's on at the moment and ones in the future. He was always a man of reading files, paperwork, and being ahead of the game. There were other things around the apartment, such as arrows that he would be modifying and guns.

He walked out of the bathroom as I faced the window again, looking down at the street once more, hearing him walk over on the hardwood floor with his bare feet and stand behind me. I folded my arms in front of me, seeing his reflection in the window looking at me with softness in his eyes.

"Tomorrow night's going to be hell." I said aloud from my spot, looking from the ground upwards at the skyline of the city.

"You sound scared." He said to me, walking over to stand next to me and by the same window. I looked over at him, seeing him lean against the wall near the window and stare at me. I saw evidence of seriousness in his eyes, along with softness. I don't know whether it was from the yellow lights that were on the building walls that were peering into the apartment, or the way he was staring at me. But something inside of me look at him in a different light then.

"I am." I merely replied, thinking of it to be true. I was afraid to not getting out of there alive, of Clint not getting out of there alive. I was afraid that we were going to fail and Norman was going to win, all hell will break loose and nothing will be the same again.

"Sometimes we can't afford to be scared, not like this." He said to me, having me see he was serious.

"One would think I would try to talk to someone, anyone, before this happens. Given the fact that we are going into something that might be the end of us. But, the only person I have left is you." I explained to him, seeing him look away from me for a mere moment before looking back and seeing his face to be a bit softer than before. It was both a scary and pleasant thought for me to have. I was scared that there as no one else let tin my family that I can call an say goodbye to. On the other hand, I still had the team to look back on for support. And I still had Clint, my only sense of foundation in my life that was holding things together.

"You're all I left too, you know." He said to me, having me feel a twinge of pain from hearing that from him, "But I'm going into this, knowing that we are fighting for everyone on this planet." At that point he crossed his arms in front of him as well as me. Just by looking at him I knew he was in deep thought at that point, something coming over him as he spoke again. His voice was soft since we were so close together in his apartment.

"You'd think after so many missions, being in so many situations and having your life place in danger so many times, that it wouldn't be fresh in your brain. It would be as if it was another walk in the park, something I do without thinking." Clint said aloud, still looking out the window as I watched him silently, "I've been in situations where I never thought I would make it out alive. I've had people warp my brain around, take it out and put something back in without me knowing it." By that time I knew he was talking about Lokki, since we've talked about it so many times together and what he went through.

"But something about this one, it's making me feel like it's my first mission all over again." He finished, finally looking up at me and having me see some fear in the back of his eyes. Clint never shows fear, even when we're on a mission and it looks too horrible to make it right. He would never show his fear in front of others. I nodded his head after he spoke and knew that he needed some sort of support about this.

"Well then, it looks like we are going to have to get through this mission in one piece." I said to him in a bit of a stronger tone, knowing that this fight was going to be tough. But just hearing what Clint was going through, I felt more confidence in this fight then any of the other ones. He smiled, for the first time in minutes as he got up from leaning against the window.

"And I take it you'll be next to me the entire time and won't loose me for one second?" I asked him aloud in almost a coy tone, seeing him walk over to me slowly and wrap his arms around my lower back. I missed him holding me like that, feeling his muscles in his arms against my skin.

"Not for one second." He replied back to me, his voice was soft once more as I felt his fingertips against my cotton shirt, seeping through to my bare skin. I was getting that feeling in the pit of my stomach, the feeling of passion towards him once more. I wrapped my arms around his neck and laced my fingers behind his head, tilting my head to the side at him as he leaned in a bit closer.

"After all of this is over, when we both get out of this alive and safe, we're going to go away just the two of us. No Fury, no Helicarrier, and no Tony to harass us." He promised me, making me bit my lower lip without even thinking as he moved one of his hands from my lower back to the bangs in front of my eyes, "Just you and me."

"I'm holding you to that promise." I said to him in a semi-threatning tone, seeing him smirk at me as he leaned in and kissed me. I sighed against his lips as I kissed him back, the feeling of lust coming over me once more like before. Before I knew it, we both were walking backwards towards his bedroom and falling onto his bed. Somewhere between me taking off his shirt and raking my fingers down his bareback and Clint slipping off the ponytail holding my hair back, all of my thoughts were gone.

Gone for just a moment or two.

* * *

I woke up from another nightmare. The first one I've had in weeks. I didn't take the medication, knowing that the side effects would be keeping me away and jittery. The last thing I wanted was to be jittery before I was going in on another mission. This nightmare wasn't as bad as before, only seeing flashes of the San Francisco incident go over my head in constant rotation.

All I could hear was my breathing, going from being rapid because of the nightmare to going back to normal. I felt Clint's arm around my waist shift, his face against my hair moved slightly. I must of woken him up from waking up myself, mentally kicking myself in the brain as I felt a kiss on my bare shoulder blade. I checked the watch on the nightstand next to me. 3:35 am. Such luck.

"Nightmare again?" I head behind me in a groggy tone. I laced my fingers with his to silently tell him yes, feeling him squeeze my hand in his and I felt his other hand grabbing my other free hand.

"You need something to get your mind off of it?" He asked me, a little bit more awake then before. I shifted around to face him, still having both of our hands laced together. Clint smiled at me, making me see the evident tiredness in his eyes as he took a free hand and moved my hair from my own eyes.

"My very first mission was going to Russia. I was probably 19 years old at the time and this was my first mission going solo." He said to me, making me snuggle into the bed more as he kept going with his story, "I was sent to kill someone of higher power who was a threat to S.H.I.E.L.D. Right from the beginning I was facing about 6 soldiers in Russia country, all by myself…."

He explained his first mission to me, and seeing the look in his eyes when he was telling me the story made me smile. They were filled with a rush when he spoke, his blue eyes were softer and more of a radiant color because of this. I never heard him talk about a mission in such a way before. But when he stopped I was getting sleep once more, since he was somehow making me want to close my eyes once again. He wrapped a arm around me and I rested my head on his chest, hearing him breathe in and or a few times before I murmured something to him.

"I love you." I said aloud, feeling as thought it was somewhat a perfect moment to say it. With his hand around my shoulder and his other hand resting on top of mine, I could tell he was smiling from his spot.

"I love you too."

* * *

I stood at the foot of the Bombay doors of the plane that was taking us over the building that we were dropping into. It was the night of the mission: getting in for Norman turns America and Germany against one another. The plan was sounding good, up until that point. Natasha, Peter and Steve will go in and find Norman and the head of German Military. As they do this, Clint and I would go and find the serum and destroy it before Norman can get his hands on it and make it worse. Thor and Bruce would handle security and making sure nothing was going to bother us. That left Tony, he wanted to handle Norman alone. There must of been a grudge there that we didn't see.

Peter, Steve and Natasha already were off on their mission inside the building, so it was Clint and I at the Bombay doors ready to drop onto the roof. I looked over at Clint, seeing him in his Hawkeye uniform and nodding at me once. I was wearing my black pants, a skin tight long sleeved black shirt with a vest over it holding some gadgets in the pockets, my backpack and hoodie over my head, boots, fingerless gloves my hair french braided down over my shoulder. I had my shotgun behind my back as usual and a two guns strapped to both of my legs. One of them was the gun Tony gave me, and the other was my usual gun I would use.

"Drop sight is approaching." I heard Fury said in my earpiece, knowing that he was still in the Helicarrier. I saw the building below us through the Bombay doors, the darkness of the skin mixed with the lights on the building. I held onto the strap above me as we slowed down the plane in time for the both of us to jump. Before we did I looked up at Clint once more, smiling at him and then hearing Fury tell us to jump.

So we did.


	28. Working on Communication Skills

Clint and I landed on the rooftop of the building, having me look up briefly and see the plan fly by us and into the night. I then ran after Clint and we both opened the roof access door, getting inside and having me pull out my phone once more. Going through my phone settings and getting that taken care of, I saw Clint take out an arrow and arm in case we were going to be followed.

"Disarming the security systems now." I said aloud, knowing that Fury was hearing through our communicators. I pressed a new buttons and then saw through my phone the security feed going down on defenses and checkpoints. After I did this, I looked at the floor plans regarding the building and seeing the labs on the 17th level being surrounded by armed soldiers. I knew the serum would be there. If not, then it would be a good decoy. So it had to be a good decoy.

I lead the way down a few flights of stairs with both my phone in one hand and my other hand free incase something where to happen. After doing this, I kept my phone in front of me behind Clint as he waited by the door to go into the hallway. He looked behind me, seeing me tap a few numbers into my phone and see the cameras that were on the walls against the corners and in front of some of the doors. I got into the cameras of this floor and saw about 6 soldiers there, walking back and forth armed with guns.

"6 of them." I said aloud to Clint, seeing him tap a few buttons on his bow and then on his harness. He loaded a special arrow as I placed my phone away in my pocket. Using my regular pistol, I there off the safety and nodded at Clint. He threw open the door and then shot his arrow into the hallway, having me hear a hissing sound and see some smoke come out from near the door.

"Arm yourselves!" I heard them yell as the two of the bolted from the stairway and into the hallway, having me instantly see one come my way and I shot him down right in the head. There was fog all in the hallway, thanks to Clint and his special arrow. Another soldier came to my right as two were gunning Clint, having me duck as the soldier swiped at me. I threw him over my back and hearing him fall to the floor. I held the nozzle end of the pistol in my hand as a third solider ran towards him, slamming him in the head with my pistol and hearing him grunt as I swiped my arm out to punch him in the same place. He blocked it, having me duck his punch and block his kick to my ribs.

"Clover, Clint. What is your status?" I heard in my earpiece as I looked over for a mere second. Clint nailed a guy in the head with the end of his bow, making him fall to the floor unconscious as I kneed the third soldiers in the rib and saw him hunch over. I immediately kicked him in the head, seeing him fall down and not get up. I got up slowly, see in Clint take out one more soldier with a arrow to his neck, having the solider fall to the floor while Clint was still holding his arrow in his hand.

"So far so good." I said aloud as I saw the fog lighten up finally. All six soldiers were on the floor sprawled out, and I knew they weren't going to move anytime soon. There was suddenly a soft humming sound, almost like a radio in the air as I looked around, having my gun out and read to shoot if I needed to. But it was coming from one of the unconscious soldiers, off their shoulder there was something making the noise.

"Do you copy?" I heard a voice and saw that it was a warlike talkie. I leaned down to hear the walkie some more as Clint looked around for others coming out way.

"Agent Walker, do you copy?" I heard it ask aloud, someone was looking for them. I grabbed the walkie-talkie and hooked it to my backpack in case we were going to hear from others.

"We need to keep moving down a few flights, they know something's wrong." I said aloud to Clint as he nodded his head and I got up from my spot. If they were coming our way, then they will be quick and Norman will not be pleased. Clint and I started walking again to the elevator door, having my take out my phone and start up the elevator to take us down two more flights without any problems from anyone. As the doors closed behind us, I reloaded by pistol once more and looked at my phone, seeing as we got closer there were new cameras on the floor that we wanted.

"Twelve of them surrounding the lab." I said in almost a groan, trying to think of how we can get through twelve of them without either Clint or I getting hurt. This was one was to be ten times as worse. Both of us with six each, six of the super soldiers that are under Norman's command. If we were going to get through there, we needed something big.

But then it hit me.

"Thank you Tony." I said aloud grabbing the gun strapped to my thigh. It was so light in my hand that I was fraud of dropping it by just moving my hand. I held it up and cocked the gun right before the doors opened. We both looked and for a mere second we were frozen in out spots, seeing twelve soldiers all in front of the door with their guns out at the ready in front of us. I knew we had a split second to act, so I threw up my gun above their heads and shot two times.

Instantly there were bright lights, having me think I was right in the middle of a firework show that I could not escape from. There was random gunfire as I saw Clint throw on his sunglasses and I did the same. We could finally see, noticing the men were literally shooting at random things. This gave us time to sneak through and take out as much as we could before getting into the lab section of the floor. The lab was right in the middle with thick glass surrounding the area. I knew the serum was in there, with twelve super soldiers guarding it and only two of us.

All I saw was colors, colors and bright lights blinking from the gunfire as we fought our way through. I got soldier after solider, making sure they would stay down as I got closed to the land doors. Remembering Tony and what he said about these explosives, they would last a few more seconds as I hacked into the panel and got the doors opened. Looking behind me I saw Clint taking out the last soldier and getting through the doors with me, making me close the doors and lock them in case we were going to be visited. As soon as we were both safe inside, the explosives cleared and I saw the smoke clear as well. We both looked and saw that all twelve of the soldiers were on the floor out cold. I smiled as I looked down at the gun in my hand. I had to thank Tony later when we were done with this mission.

Both Clint and I looked at the lab we were in, seeing how clean and pristine it was compared to the lab that we were used to at Helicarrier. I saw tools that seemed more expensive than anything we ever had, and that was saying something.

Clint drew an arrow as I had my pistol in hand, the both of us walking around the area to see where he would have hidden the serum. I had no idea where he would hide something like this. It made me look twice as hard and twice as fast I heard on the walkie-talkie someone else.

"There has been a disturbance on the 17th floor. Find whoever it is and get rid of them before Mr. Osborn finds out." I heard on the radio and I looked over at Clint. Before he could say anything to me, I pulled up my phone and looked through some of the cameras in the building. Clint had the both of us squat down behind a desk as I saw the cameras in the meeting room where Norman and the Germany head were a. It made me wonder where Natasha, Peter and Steve where when it came to this.

"We don't have a whole lot of time." Clint said to me, as he looked over the desk from his spot. I could tell he was making sure the coast was clear, "We have to find the serum now before Norman goes in for the kill."

"Widow you read me?" I asked aloud into my earpiece, hoping that she would pick up on the other end.

"I read you Clover." I heard her on the other line, making me smile slightly.

"What's your status?" I asked her aloud, looking around myself to find anything that would have the serum.

"We're very close to getting Norman before he goes in. If he goes into his Green Goblin mode, we'll need more than just the three of us." Widow explained to me as I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I saw a box within one of the desk drawers, it looked like it was made of steel and had a handle on the front. It all clicked in me.

It was a safe.

"Clint." I said aloud, crawling over to the safe and looked at it with worried eyes. I never hacked into a safe, nor did I know how to get into one. Clint came over with me, looking at the safe with intense eyes. I didn't see this in the plan, and I had no idea how to get into a safe without being caught by an alarm of some sort. But I saw Clint take off his harness and place it on the floor next to him, taking off his gloves and started to work on the safe.

"You know to crack a safe?" I asked him aloud with a surprised tone, seeing him look over at me with a big grin on his face.

"Something I picked up while working as a assassin. Besides, you never asked when we went to dinner." He replied back to me, turning the dial and making me grin at him.

"We need to work on our communication." I said in a grunt as I looked over the desk once more, seeing that there was no one coming. I leaned against the desk, getting out my phone and looking through the cameras once more and seeing that there were at least ten more soldiers coming our way two floors down about to hit the elevator. I saw Clint still working on the safe and was close to finishing it, making me sit there and think on how we were going to get out of this new challenge in front of us. What could I use against them? I had only a shotgun and pistol; maybe Clint had something up his sleeve.

"I'm in." I heard next to me, having me look over and see him open the door. We both looked inside and saw that there was a small silver case inside. I grabbed the case carefully and placed it in my lap, still sitting against the desk and opened it. There, inside the small case, were four vials and one needle ready for usage.

The serum was in our hands.

"We have the serum." Clint said aloud to his earpiece as I closed it and placed it in my backpack. I treated it like I was a thief treating diamonds that I just stole: with the up most importance. There was a sense of security with this serum, so much technology and science in four small glass vials.

"Clint and Clover are in the clear." Fury said aloud as I was about it put on the backpack before I heard something small, very small behind us near the front of the laboratory. I froze in my spot, as did Clint, having me try to think again. The ten soldiers were hearing now, and they were waiting for our first move. I looked around the corner slightly, seeing them come through the elevator and then back at Clint.

"You have any ideas?" I asked him aloud in a low tone, seeing him get his harness back on and bow in hand. I saw him press a few buttons and take out another special arrow from his harness and load it in his hands.

"I'll take them out, I just need a clear shot without being blown to pieces." He explained to me, looking to our right to find shelter. How was he going to do that? Something had to be done in order to make this work.

"If I can get over there while they stay where they are…." He trailed off, having me sigh and throw out my shotgun and cock it in my hand. He looked back at me as I had my hoodie go over my head much more than before to hide my eyes. Before he could even argue with me, I ran out from the corner and heard the gunfire behind me, trying to hit me. I knew I was faster, much faster than them with their pounds of metal and killing machines strapped to them. I saw a long stretch of marble floor and I ran for it, sliding on my knees and shooting the first 3 of them that I saw.

"Shoot Clint!" I screamed, still sliding on the floor and ending up behind a desk. I immediately felt the desk in front of me being ripped apart by bullets as they reed to hit me. But this only lasted for a second or two, up until I heard grunting. It was like they were being hit by something, and then falling to the floor.

There was silence for a few seconds, making me be very still if they were stopping and waiting for me to place my head up in view. But I heard nothing, nothing but my rabid breathing and from metal hitting the floor. Slowly and surely, I had my gun in my hand and looked over the damaged desk that saved my life. All of the remaining men were dead on the floor, with smoke coming out of their chests and backs and the lights in the lab were sparkling out of the control. The scene in the lab alone made me look in astonishment, seeing how bad we destroyed the place. I saw Clint standing alone at out original spot, his bow in hand and breathing in and out heavily. He looked over at me as I placed my shotgun back on my back.

"Work on our communication? Really?" he asked me, making me smile at him and shrug from my spot.

"Its like you said, it was never mentioned at dinner."


	29. Our Move

"Now that you have the serum, get it back to Helicarrier." Fury said to the both of us as we got out of the lab and into the elevator. I grabbed my backpack and held it in the hands in front of me, knowing that I was in fact holding something that was completely going to change the next few hours. If I did let this out of my hands, all hell could break loose. We had to get it out of harm's way in hopes of making Norman less of a threat and more of a weakness when it came to taking him down. We were so close to being finished with him, and it was going to be a bit more to take him down personally.

"What about Widow, Spiderman and Captain?" I asked aloud in the elevator, placing the backpack back on my back and readjusting the straps.

"Norman has not made the first move just yet, so they are fine where they are." Fury replied aloud, but then I remembered something Tony told me before we went on this mission. It was something to do with Norman's suit, the malfunction he had that could be stopped from. The gadget he gave me, and I still had it in my backpack. Without thinking I grasped Clint's arm from my spot next to them, my stomach dropping from the thought.

"I have the gadget that can malfunction his suit." I said aloud, having Clint look over at me and then having me realize what I had to do. I had to face Norman and throw that gadget at him in order for him to be weak.

"Fury, get Thor and Bruce down here, Stark too. If we are going to stop Norman, we need to do it full force." I said aloud, stopping the elevator from going up by hitting the emergency stop button.

"What are you talking about?" Clint asked aloud to me, having confusion on his face.

"I can distract Norman with the briefcase and get him in my line of sight, then getting his suit to malfunction and having all of us there to stop him. Widow can take the Germany Head to safety and the rest of us can get those soldiers off our backs. Knowing Norman he'll have at least fifty of those guys guarding him." I explained to him, seeing the uneasiness in his eyes, as I heard nothing in my earpiece for a moment or two. Fury was listening in to what I was telling Clint, having me hope he would swing it my way.

"I might have something up my sleeve for this. You up to the challenge Clover?" I heard in my ear, knowing that Fury was willing to go with what I was thinking. I looked over at Clint, seeing that he was about to start an argument with me.

"I'm game." I said aloud, hitting the down button of the elevator and feel in us go down to the floor where the meeting was being held. Clint sighed next to me, making me take a deep breath and wait for the argument to commence between us.

"Team, we have a new game plan. Black Widow, retrieve the Germany Military Head and take him to safety, protect him at all cost. Clover will be our diversion for Norman to follow, giving us time to take out his soldiers and back up plan. Thor and Bruce get down there and help with those soldiers. Clint, keep your eye on Clover and make sure nothing gets in the way of the plan." I heard in the earpiece as I reloaded my shogun in front of me. It was quiet in the elevator for a moment or two before I heard Clint speak up once more.

"Can't keep yourself out of danger can you?" He asked aloud, trying not to sound angry about what we were about to do. I cocked my gun with one hand, looking over at him. He was not too happy about what was going to happen, meaning me getting myself in line of fire.

"You know how I am, Clint. I'm not one to sit on the sidelines while you guys get to play." I said to him, seeing him crack his knuckles and then looking over at me.

"This isn't a joke Emily." He said in a lower tone, having me look at him square in the eye.

"I'm not making it a joke, Clint." I said back to him in a low tone, seeing him keep his eyes on me. He hated this plan, because I was going to risk my own neck for the sake of the team. He would rather see me safe, have control and make sure I was going to be okay.

"Clint, I know you want me safe." I started with him, seeing want to argue with me but he stayed still and quiet as I kept talking, "But this is one thing I know I can control. I have to do this."

"You have to do this? Why not me, or Widow for that matter? Why you?" He asked me, his voice was sounding broken then and I knew this was killing him. From there I placed my free hand, fingerless glove and skin, against his neck and stood a bit closer to him. I hated seeing him like this, in almost pain because someone he knew and loved was going to place his or her neck on the line. I hated putting him in that position, it was the very last thing I ever wanted to do.

"This is my definition of control." I merely replied to him, seeing him scan my eyes to see if it was true. I needed this as a sense of control in order to know that what I do will define the future. I needed control over this, to prove to myself that I am strong enough and capable to handle this. Clint said nothing as I still stared at him. He then looked down for a second, having me think that he was trying to find a way out of this and make sure I wasn't the one to go in. But he looked back at me, the seriousness in his eyes made me realize how much this killed him.

"Promise me that you'll make it out alive." He said to me in a stern tone, having me bit my lip slightly at the emotion I was feeling from him. He wanted me alive, he wanted me safe. The underline of it all, was that he wanted me alive and with him. I wanted to give that to him, but I had an obligation to the team.

"I promise." I reassured him, wanting him to know that I was going to get out alive and get back to him. I leaned up and kiss him square on the lips, trying to show much I did love him and think of him in at a time like this. He kissed me back, just as hard as I kissed him, then pulling away and loading his bow and arrow once more in his arms. I threw the backpack over my shoulders and the hoodie over my head to hide my eyes. We both were at an agreement, get in and get out alive. Back to each other.

So we can live together.

We reached the floor and I heard the elevator ding, the doors opening as I threw up my shotgun at the ready. Clint aimed his bow and arrow in front of hi as we both walked out and looked around in the lobby. There was no one in sight, not yet at least as we both looked to our left and right.

"We're outside the room." I said aloud in my earpiece right in front of the doors.

"We're set on the other side of the room." Widow said aloud as I reached for the doorknob and placed my hand on it. Once I turned it, I knew we were going to be going in with no turning back. I looked behind me at Clint, already seeing him with his bow and arrow out in front of him and nodding at me once.

"I promise." I reminded him, seeing his eyes soften for a moment before I turned back to the door, throwing it open and going it. Inside was a round table, chairs around the sides and a chandelier over the center of the table. I saw only six people in the room: two German soldiers, two soldiers from Norman Osborn, Norman himself and the German Military head. Both Norman and the Germany Military head were stunned to see me, but I saw the anger going through Norman's face as the soldiers threw up their guns at us. I was about to shoot at them when Norman threw up his hands at the soldiers.

"It's fine, put them down boys." He said aloud to the soldiers, making me see the soldiers hesitantly place their guns down. I kept mine up still, aiming at Norman as I saw Clint still aiming at Norman right at the heart. Norman smiled at me, a small smile like he knew that this was going to happen. He then faces me completely, having me both look at him and at the German Head. He was looking rather petrified in his spot and he stayed still in his uniform and looking at me with big eyes.

"You know, you had me going for a second." Norman said aloud in a smirk as he started to walk over towards me slowly, leaving the Germany head in his spot and having me follow Norman with my eyes and shotgun, "And all this time I thought it was Tony Stark going to get back at me and stop me. Looks like the old man doesn't have it in him."

"I don't think you should be calling him old since you're from the ice age." I replied back to him, keeping my barrel on him and ready to shoot if he tried to do anything. He sneered at me, the same sneer from when he gave me the bruise in Chicago.

"That one was cute, did you get that when you in grade school as a child?" He asked me in a coy tone, having me aim my gun at the roof and shoot once. I saw him visibly shake as I cocked the gun once more and aimed it at him. The soldiers shifted, but I saw Norman waved them down from his spot. I knew I had his attention as I head my earpiece go off silently.

"Thor and Bruce are in pursuit." I hear Fury said aloud in my ear as Norman held out his hands in almost a defense.

"Did you think you can get out of here with two of you, and about fifty of my men?" He asked me in more of a serious tone, having me eye from coolly and place my finger on the trigger, "I'm a man about business, and about planning. There is nothing, and no one that will stand in my way."

"Did _you _honestly think that we were going to let you slide? After what Tony told you not to do?" I asked him in a cold tone, seeing something flicker in his eyes, as he was getting closer to me. I knew Clint was still right behind me, still aiming his arrow right at his heart and waiting for the moment to kill him.

"5 seconds until we commence." I heard Fury said in my ear as I saw Norman twitching his fingers in front of him, wanting so bad as to move and to get me. I had to hold him for so much longer than I could, get him in the right spot as he stopped walking towards me, smiling coolly and standing up straight with his hands in his pockets.

"You're making this too easy on me, having two of you here and fifty of my soldiers on their way up here to kill you. I thought it was honestly going to be more difficult." He said to me, then walking back to the German Head and looking over his shoulder at me.

"I'll offer you this one chance to stand down, Osborne." I said to him, hearing him laugh his sinister laugh as he was with the German Head once more, taking something out of his pocket that looked like a long smooth velvet box. He opened it and I saw a vial inside, looking like the same one that I was carrying in my backpack at that moment. It had green liquid inside, making Clint and I shift a bit in our spots. This had to be a bluff; we had the real set in our hands. I saw his other hand going into his pocket, grabbing something as he smiled sinisterly at me.

"I think I already made my move." He said to me, his voice was a bit on the edge of insanity as I then heard three knocks on the door behind us. After a moment or two we heard behind us the sound of booming feet hitting the ground, as if a giant was walking towards us. Everyone was silent as the booming got louder and louder, getting closer and closer to us. I stayed still, as did Clint, keeping our aim on Norman as he looked behind us in confusion. The German Head was looking petrified. After a few seconds of this, the booming stopped, and we were in the quietness once more as I then heard three large knocks on the door. The noise was so loud that the chandelier in the room shook violently and I felt the floor shake as well. Norman finally spoke up; his voice was shaking slightly like he was trying to be dominant.

"What was that?" He asked aloud in a sneer, having me smile in my spot.

"Our move." Clint replied behind me, having us hear the doors being ripped open and thrown aside like toothpicks and the sound of crashing wood surrounding us. I saw the soldiers step back a few feet in horror as both Norman and the German Head looked behind us. I knew what was going to happen, keeping still as I saw light from the lobby coming through, heard nothing but a low growl and then the loud roar of the Hulk over me.

It was the Avengers, all ready for battle as we all stood in front of Norman Bates.


	30. Came to a Screeching Hault

Peter threw out his arm, a string of web coming out to be attached to the vial and coming back to his hand within seconds. I saw Peter clench the vial in his hand, almost the point of breaking it as he threw out his other hand, watching for the next move from Norman. I knew he had to think of something quick in order to get out of this one. I saw the German Military head shift a bit next to him as I watched what was in Norman's hand still, something that was getting on my nerve.

"We've tried to warn you on several occasions." I heard behind me, making me stay still as I saw someone walking over to stand next to me and Clint in the front of the Avengers: Nick Fury himself. He was sporting his trench coat, black attire and eye-patch as he stood with his hands behind his back. He was staring right at Norman as I saw the German Military Head try to move out of the way from Norman.

"But you had to fight us, you had to make us come down here." Fury said aloud in a lower tone, having me see Widow walk from the group over to the German Military head. She was going to get them out of the way in case something was going to happen. I could fell Norman was going to do something drastic and make it their fault. He was going to make his hands clean of this.

"I don't take threats from a bunch of freaks in uniforms seriously, you should know that Stark." Norman replied, looking directly at Tony at the point. Tony was on my left side, so when Norman shifted his body slightly I saw what was in his left hand. It was his own vial. This one was different through, much different since it was in fact a different color and size than the ones I had.

"You said you wanted it to be difficult." I said to him aloud, pointing down my gun and then throwing off my backpack. I placed it in front of me and saw him look at it with confusion in his eyes. I unzipped the top of the back, showing the case to him in plain sight. I saw something shift in him, something dark and sinister made its way up to his brain and click. I smirked at him, knowing that I had him right where I wanted him: trapped.

From there I saw him throw up the vial straight at me, within a second I threw up the case in order to block the vial. I heard the vial hit the case and then fly somewhere else. Instantly, Clint shot his arrow, having me see the four soldiers being electrocuted and hit the floor before Norman could blink. Widow ran over to the German Head, having me see Norman throw something on the floor as I looked behind me and saw fifty of Norman's soldiers running towards us. The Hulk swung around and roared as Thor snug out his hammer. It was all about to break loose.

All of hell.

I three the case back in my backpack, threw that over my shoulders and the hoodie over my eyes a I saw Norman make a gun line towards me. He was after me because I had the one thing he needed in order to win. I ran behind me through the mass chaos that was filled with Norman's soldiers, our soldiers that came as back up, and the Avengers. I ran down the hallway and saw him running after me, making me take a quick turn to the left. My earpiece was buzzing at me as I tapped the ear to make it go through.

"I have Norman on my tail, get those soldiers down and get out of there." I said aloud to my phone for anyone to hear.

"We need him in his suit for the gadget to work." I heard Peter say to me aloud, sounding like he was about to gang up on two of the soldiers who were firing at him.

"I'll get him in the suit." I said aloud as I was at a dead end. There was a large window in front of me, overlooking the city and I saw the rain coming down hard on the window, making a sound almost like bullets flying through the air. I looked behind me and saw no one there. I was instantly scared, taking a step backwards and then looking forward once more at the window in front of me.

"I lost Osborne." I said aloud to my earpiece, thinking that he went back to go fight the rest of the tens. But then again I had what he wanted, and he would rather of after me.

"Where did he go?" I heard Fury ask me aloud, making me look down for a moment.

"I don't know. He was just behind me." I said aloud back to him, looking back up slowly and seeing something in the window reflection flying towards me down the hall. It was big, mechanical, and green. Oh crap.

I whirled wound just in time for the Green Goblin to grab me by the throat, pick me up in the air and the both of us to got through the window of the building and into the night air. The water was hitting all over my body from the rain, my skin was cut in several open places from the glass slicing into my skin, and I felt my breath leaving me as we were flying over the city of New York.

He threw me down, making me think that I was going to fall from the sky to my death. But I landed on something hard and metal, making me look down and see we were on some sort of hovercraft. I got up slowly from my spot; still feeling us fly through the air on the craft and through the rain. My footing was difficult from the water hitting us as I got up completely to face him. Even while he was still in his suit, I knew that he was still human behind that machine he was in and he can be taken down.

"Give me the serum, and I'll let your death be less pitiful." He said to me, his voice was mixed in with the mechanics of the suit he was wearing. I only cracked my knuckles in my spot, knowing that a good fight with him was all that it took for me to take him down. My hair was plastered to my face, my skin was getting cold from the rain, but I didn't care.

I wanted war.

"Over my dead body." I said to him aloud, placing my fist up in front of me and hearing what sounded like a chuckle in his suit. He wasn't going to let me go so easily, and I was up for it. From there he launched himself at me, the craft still flying over the city making it harder for me to even try and get out of the way. We started sparing together, and the stronger he was the less of a chance I had to get out alive. It was only he and I; with every punch he gave me I gave him a kick back. We both were on the same level.

But I wasn't going to let him win.

"I have a lock on Clover, we need to get that backpack away from him." I heard in my earpiece, hearing that it was Tony. I was glad someone was on his way to get me out, and hoping in the back of my mind that Clint was okay wherever he was.

I felt a sharp kick in the stomach, having me hunch over on the craft and cling onto it as I felt it turn from behind slammed into a building. I felt my legs sliding slightly off the craft but I threw them back on as I felt his hand on the backpack. I instantly waved his hand off my backpack and got myself back up again, facing him and the opposite direction how we were flying.

I was mostly covered in sweet and rain, blood from the cuts on my body. There was pain in both of my legs from knocked down a few times. But I knew I had to keep him going for just a little while longer as I saw him look right at me. I heard something coming up behind the both of us and I whirled around, seeing something coming up to us in a fast rate. It was glowing blue, a bright blue as I smiled in my spot.

Thor.

Before Norman could even do anything, I punched him hard in the mouth and saw him fall to the floor. I pulled out the gadget I was going to use on him, then throwing off the backpack and tossing it over the carrier in the air. I saw the backpack drop slightly in the air and for a mere second I was scared that it was going to fall completely. But my mind was on getting that thing far away from Norman. Thor, thankfully, caught it in time and flew off with it. I smiled, looking on as he flew off back towards the building and looking back at Norman. He slowly rose up in his spot, making me see that beyond his mask he was ten times as pissed for loosing the case.

"I have to give it to you, you have guts." He said to me in a sneer, having me try to get the feeling back in my fingers once more as we flew a bit faster than before, "But it looks like I'm going to have to kill you twice as slow, then kill your archer friend of yours."

By that point, as soon as he mentioned Clint, I felt a wave of energy soar through me better than before. Who was he to threaten Clint? Without even blinking an eye I threw out the gadget, seeing it attach to his chest and seeing the sparks fly on the suit. He grunted, walking back a bit and trying not to fall off as I saw the suit going dead. He was only in a metal suit now, nothing more to protect him. Time to strike.

I never wanted to kill so badly as that moment. I ran towards him on the carrier, fighting him some more and getting him hard in the face before I heard something behind me. I knew it was a plane of some sort, one of ours. They finally found me, waiting to get me out of there at the proper moment. I swung out my pistol in my hand, hitting him hard in the face and seeing him fall to the floor. I rammed my foot on his back, squatting down near his ear knowing that he was going to listen on the carrier floor.

"It's people like you that my parents are dead. It's people like you that make this world broken." I said to him over the roar of the carrier and the rain pounding on us, "And it's people like you, that make me want to kill." I heard something above me and I looked up. I saw one of our planes flying over to us and I got up to stand on my two feet. I could see Clint and Widow in the pilot's seats and Clint looking down at me. For a mere second I felt a sense of relief knowing that I was that close to being done with all of this and being safe with Clint.

But it came to a screeching hault.


	31. Improvising

I felt my legs going from under me, the sound of metal hitting my back as I was slammed onto the carrier and something being stabbed into my lower arm. I screamed out loud, feeling the pain soar through my arm and into my chest I felt the hovercraft still flying through the New York City sky. I knew then I was screwed as I saw the Green Goblin crouching over me, his head so close to mine. Whatever was in my arm was making it impossible for me to move, let alone shuffle my way out of what was going to come my way.

"Clover!" I heard Clint scream in the earpiece as I saw the Green Goblin grasp my wounded arm, making me squint in even more pain and hear him laugh from above me.

"Clint, where are you going?" I heard Widow ask in the earpiece as I felt the rain hit my face and my damaged arm that was still attached to the hovercraft. I saw Green Goblin raise a hand, making it a fist and putting it above his head. He was about to end me then and there.

"I'm not loosing her!" He yelled back in the earpiece, making me want to fight and kick my way out of there. I was stop stuck to do anything, praying for some kind of miracle. Before he could even make the punch, his arm high in the air, I saw something fly through his arm and stay there, making me yell out and walk backwards. When he was far enough, I reached over with my good arm and saw that I was stuck with a small sword sticking to the carrier, my arm still attached slightly. I saw above me an arrow through Green Goblin's arm, making me beyond glad that it was Clint that stopped him. I had to look behind me, seeing Clint at one of the windows of the plane. The window was clearly open and he had his bow still up, putting it down and looking at me with scared eyes.

"Get over here." I heard above us, seeing that it was Iron Man flying above us on the small carrier and grabbing Green Goblin by the back of his neck, hoisting him up in the air. I saw him fly off with the Green Goblin, making me grab the sword that was still in my arm and try to pry it off in one clean swipe. The pain was still soaring through my arm as I pulled it out in one go, screaming out slightly from the pain getting worse. I threw the sword to the floor of the carrier, seeing my blood stained on the metal. Slowly, I got up from the floor of the carrier that I was still on, clutching my wounded arm. The blood was seeping through my fingers as I tried to think of a way to make this hovercraft stop. Now that Norman was not flying it, I felt it descending to the skyscrapers.

"Clover, get off that thing and get on the plane!" I heard Widow say aloud from the airplane, but I shook my head as I felt the rain getting hater than before. I looked around the hovercraft I was on, seeing the places where the feet would go and placing my feet there. I saw blood hitting the hovercraft, making me blink a few times and start to think.

"Leave me." I said aloud, looking around some more on the hovercraft as it started to descend even more, "I need to stop this thing before it kills innocent people." The last thing we needed was this hovercraft to go into a building and kill people without anyone stopping it. I needed to do it, and make sure no blood was on my hands since I was already bleeding.

"You're going to get yourself killed before you can do that. You'll bleed to death if you don't get out of there." Clint warned me from the plane as I tried to find any button on the hovercraft, any switch to have this thing turn off or slow down. Something clicked onto my feet, grasping it like glue and making it so that I was stuck with my feet in their places. This must mean something.

"Don't start with me, Clint." I warned him as I leaned forward slightly, then feeling the hovercraft go into affect. It was following my weight ratio: if I leaned forward, it would go faster. I froze, and then leaning back slightly and feeling the hovercraft slow down. I smiled, wounded arm and all as I figured it out. Now, only to get it to go higher since I was about to skim over the skyscraper coming closer to me. I lifted myself up, as if going on my tiptoes. Instantly I saw the hovercraft going higher vertically and I smiled widely from the hovercraft. I knew how to fly this thing, somewhat fly it really. Immediately I grabbed the sword in my good hand and made sure to hold onto it tight as I started to steer this thing.

"What are you doing?" I heard in my earpiece, knowing that it was Widow who asked me. I leaned the hovercraft to the left, feeling the craft go to the left in the air and barely miss the skyscraper next to me. I was flying through New York right over the city streets far below me, making me feel like I could fly like a bird.

"Improvising. We need to get this thing out of harm's way." I replied aloud, moving the hovercraft from side to side to get the feeling and the usage out of it. There was the sudden feeling of rush going me as I glided through the New York City life, seeing life below me as I turned the glider to the right onto another strip of air. So, this was a rider after all, making me try to find a placed to land this thing. My arm was literally bleeding out so much blood I knew I was going to see white very soon if I didn't get help from Bruce, or any for that matter.

Finally I saw a lower building close by. This was having me try to fly the glider over to the top of the building and pushing my feet out in front of me in attempt to slow the thing down. I worked since my feet were out in front of me slightly in front of me with the glider attached. It was more like surfing with no waves, the same body movement and style to it. The glider stopped, hovering over the rooftop as I heard the plane landing close by on the same rooftop. As the rain poured on my body while I felt the glider gently fall to the rooftop floor in defeat, I felt the energy leave me suddenly. Somehow I was still grasping my wounded arm and walking a few steps before falling to my knees. The sword fell from my cold hand, hitting the rooftop surface in a clatter and then being so very still. The pain in my arm was making it hard for me to stay up on my feet as I felt arms wrap around me. I knew those arms; I've been asleep in those arms before. Being in those arms meant multiple things: protection, safeness, happiness, and warmth.

"You're okay, you're okay." He said over and over again as I leaned against him, both of us on our knees on a random rooftop in New York City. I still clutched my arm, the blood was mixing with rainwater and I tried to breathe in and out without grunting in pain. Clint's arm was around my waist and his other arm was cradling my wounded arm gently without trying to hurt me. Without thinking I leaned against his chest and took deep breaths once more.

Slowly he helped me up on my feet again, still having a secure arm around my waist and cradling my wounded arm as I saw something lit in the sky. We both looked and saw the light ascending into the sky like a rocket, going faster and faster as it climbed through the storm clouds. I smiled slightly, knowing that it was Tony with Green Goblin in his mechanical arms. He was fighting him, and giving him hell. I wanted to be there and see him give it to Norman, wanting to see him take his last breath at the hands of Tony Stark. But my current problem was the puncture wound in my lower arm that was threatening to kill me if I didn't get it looked at.

"Get her inside before she bleeds out." I heard Widow on the earpiece, having me walk back to the plane slowly with Clint. Before we did, I reached down with my good hand and grabbed the sword in my hand.

"We have Clover and heading back to the building. What's the status on the soldiers?" Widow asked in the earpiece as we walked back to the plane once more.

"About to be finished with them, could use your help here though." Fury replied in the earpiece as I walking up the ramp into the plane. Widow closed the door as Clint walked me over to one of the seats. After helping me in one of them, we felt the plane take off as Clint went to get the first aid kit near Widow at the front of the plane.

"On our way." Widow replied aloud. I held on for dear life from Widow's flying over to the building, knowing that it would take about twenty seconds just to get there. The plane started to fly over the city as I threw the sword onto the next to mine, hearing it clatter and fall silent. Clint came back with the kit, opening it as I sat still.

"Let me see." Clint said aloud, Squatting down in front of me and taking my wounded arm in his hands. I moved my bloody hand and seeing the damage myself. It was a clean puncture, seeing dark crimson in my arm as Clint got out the things needed to get it wrapped up.

"We don't have time to stitch it, so this is the best we can do." Clint told me aloud, his instructor side of him coming out as I saw what he was going to use. I clenched the bar next to me as I felt the sting of the rubbing alcohol on the wound. Clint dabbed the wound, making me squint and bit my lip from the sitting sensation.

"Don't be a baby." He said to me in a low tone, having me look down at me with glaring eyes. He looked back up at me with a small smile on his face. For a second I was glad to see him smile once more, since he was practically yelling at me for not getting on the plane when he said to. But that moment was gone when he dabbed the wound again, making me punch the wall in retaliation and pain.

"You want me to ram this fist through your head?" I asked through my gritted teeth, looking down at him once more as he placed a white patch over the now clean wound. He chuckled as he wrapped it in gauze slowly and carefully.

"I think our communication skills are coming along quite, nicely. Don't you think sweetheart?" he asked me aloud, finishing the gauze and then shuffling through the kit for a painkiller. I smiled, feeling the plane about to land back on the previous building that we started from. Clint came back up, handing me a small pain killer vial with the needle pointing towards me. I took the needle with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you just call me sweetheart?" I asked him aloud, seeing him smile as I tapped the needle and gave myself the shot. The sting was nothing now since I felt like my arm went to hell, shook hands with the devil, and came back in one bloody piece. I threw down the drained needle and got up slowly as Clint placed the kit on the spare chair. The gauze around my lower arm was perfectly white, though a tint of red was coming through from the middle of the wound. Later Bruce would have to patch it up, but for now this will have to do.

"Should I use something else to make you even more pissed?" He asked in a coy tone as I heard the plane turning off and Widow walking over form the pilot's seat.

"You're really going to push your girlfriend who's just been stabbed by a mad scientist and is somewhat jacked up on pain killers?" I asked him in a light tone, hearing him chuckle as he got out his bow and arrow from near the front seat. I looked to the seat next to me, seeing the blood stained sword and narrowed my eyes at it. I could let it stay here and stain the seats, but then again I could use it.

"Fair enough, but I do find this side of you pretty sexy." He replied, putting on his harness as I grabbed a spare gun. His remark made me smile from my spot as I placed the spare gun behind me in-between my pants and back. Widow opened the doors and we saw the ramp go down onto the rooftop. It made me think that we did this before mere hours before, before all of this happened. I took in a deep breath and the three of us walked down the ramp and towards the defeated Norman Osborn. In one hand, the bloody sword that nearly got me killed, and the other a fist to use against anyone else that dared to defy who I was as an Avenger.

"Let's finish this once and for all."


	32. You've Made Me Sane

It was mass chaos, everywhere I looked on that floor. The three of us ran in with our weapons ready to use against them, hearing nothing but gunfire and men screaming as they were being killed. I swiped the sword against a soldier running towards me, and then blocking a bullet gunning my way and ducking from another bullet. All I could see were blurs of people running back and forth from one another, bullets flying out of guns and sometimes a flash of green because of the Hulk.

I only had a sword, but seeing a soldier being gunned down by an S.H.I.E.L.D. soldier I ran over and swiped his gun, getting through the mass chaos of war. My arm was going numb from the pain medicine that I gave myself, but I had enough feeling to use it to go around corners or under flying bodies in the air. I can see all of the Avengers fighting, all but Iron Man

There were at least ten more soldiers more to go through in order to be finished with this, from what I could see we were pretty close. Things were getting chaotic thing, much more than I bargained for. I was getting pushed around, punched at and kicked more than before on any other missions. As hard as I fought, I felt my energy leaving me. It was just as bad since my arm was getting worse. But I had to bite my own lip through it, getting soldier after soldier hard and running before anymore damage could be done to me.

After what seemed like forever, there was not one soldier left with the Osborne logo on his sleeve. The whole floor of the building was a disaster, some of the walls blown to pieces and small fires starting here and there. Metal was all around me, along with concrete and piled up furniture as I looked around myself. My arm was throbbing, a big slash was above my left eye on my forehead and all my energy was gone as I dropped the gun I was holding in my hand. I could no longer feel any sense of strength in my body as I walked through the rubble of the floor. My clothes were torn up and damaged from both only the fight, but the rain as well. I saw bloodstains on my skin and shirt as I saw Captain America walk over to me, Black Widow along with Thor. Bruce was back to his human self, throwing on a spare shirt that he found on a fallen soldier along with pants. He looked just as bad as we did, making me feel pain for him to go through that. We all were close to being damaged goods, very close in fact. I could smell the gun smoke in the air, along with them mixture of sweat, dust, and blood as we walked over to the damaged lobby. I saw Fury and Clint there already, both of them looked just as damaged as we did.

"Where's Peter?" I asked aloud, suddenly realizing we were missing him. I looked around and started to panic, knowing that he was younger than I was. If he died, it would kill me since he had a life to live. After a few seconds, I finally saw him, standing alone near the elevator breathing in and out heavily. I stayed in my spot as I watched him, in his suit and battered from the battle. His mask was gone, having me see his wild brown hair sticking up all over the place. Slowly he reached down and grabbed something from the ground, picking it up and standing up completely once more. Slowly I walked over to him, seeing that he was holding the helmet of the Green Goblin.

Judging by how he was holding it, he looked like he was going to snap it in too. I looked at his eyes though, not his hands. Though they were brown, they were filled with hate and pain. Something deep inside told me that he had a past with the Green Goblin, a deadly past that was now resurfacing as he held the helmet.

"Tony has him." I heard behind me. Both Peter and myself look behind us at Fury who was with the rest of the group. I took in a deep breath, knowing that this was the last part of the whole mission. I started to walk over to the group, seeing Clint and stand next to him as I heard Peter walking behind me over the bricks and metal in his way. Once we were all together, I looked at all of us once more. Covered in sweat, dirt, soot, and blood, we all looked broken to me. It was amazing that we were all still alive and still breathing by that point. We all started walking over to the stairwell up to the rooftop, slowly but together.

Once we reached the rooftop, there was no more rain. It was a bit windy then, the cold wind coming through us as we walked over to Iron Man and the Green Goblin at his feet. His suit looked so damaged that I never thought it would be the Green Goblin. Iron Man did some work on him, major work. I saw the clouds in the sky roll with the wind as I heard the police cars below us coming from other ends of the city. All that I was feeling at that moment was the throbbing pain of my arm that was staining with blood on the gauze, Clint's bloody hand in mine since the top of his hand was sliced open, and the gash of my forehead making me squint as I felt blood go around my eye.

We all stood in front of the Green Goblin, seeing his battered face without his helmet. That made me look to my right and see Peter still clutching the helmet. I looked back at the Green Goblin, seeing him look up at all of us with cold eyes and the knowledge of defeat on his face.

"You still think you have me beat? Me, Norman Osborn?" He asked us aloud, his tone was breathy and cruel as he layed in front of us. This made me hate him more, wondering why he would think he still won when he clearly was not winning at all.

"You have nothing else to fight for, Osborn." Iron Man said next to him, looking down at him with his mechanical eyes, "You've lost all of this because of your need to be the best."

"You're at the end of your rope, and there is nothing you can do to bring yourself back." Fury said to him, standing in front of all of us as he said it. I then saw Peter throw his masks at him, having us hear the metal clash against the concrete and hear the pain in his voice.

"Might as well keep your dignity." He said to Norman, his voice was on the verge of pure anger as Norman looked down at his own mask and then at Peter.

"I never took you as a someone who needed to rely on others, Parker. Let alone a weakling. I thought you were a fighter." He said in a sneer.

"Like you?" Peter asked in a shocked tone, "I am nothing like you. You are nothing now, and you will never be anything worth a damn in this world." I then saw Norman's eyes shift from Peter to Clint, having me scoot closer to Clint without thinking.

"And I have you to thank for the hole in my hand." He said aloud, slowly and painfully raising his hand for us to see. His hand was covered in crimson, having me see a hole in the middle of the suited hand. It was perfectly in the middle of his hand, not one inch out of place.

"I was aiming for your heart, but you moved at the last minute." Clint said aloud in his low tone, having me see something shift in Norman's eyes. His other hand, the one that wasn't broken, was next to his leg and was holding something in it. No one else saw it, only me. It was shining in the giant light of the rooftops lights, and was long enough to be my finger. He was holding a knife in his hand, and I saw him throw it right at Clint. Without thinking, or needing to throw him aside to dodge it, I jumped right in front of him in order to stop the knife from hitting him.

Feeling it impale my lower stomach.

Things from then on out were blurry. I knew I fell to the floor, I knew I heard shouting around me, and I knew that I was dying then. I could feel Clint grasping my face in his hands as he tried to talk to me. I felt blood flowing out of my body, not as fast as I thought it would, but it was flowing. I heard someone punching Norman hard, multiple times as the cold rooftop was underneath me. All I saw were blurred images of what was happening above us, people coming in and out of my view and the pain getting worse in my stomach. It was getting harder to breath as my heart started to pound faster and faster.

So, I was dying after all.

I tried to breathe as I saw images coming in and out of my brain, my hand were shaking next to me from the cold and loss of blood. I gasped for air as I felt fingers on my face and neck, making me blink a few times. Clint was right over me and trying to get make sure I was awake as I felt other hands near my lower stomach, near the knife. I gasped out as the knife was taken out of my body and pressure was placed there in return.

"We need to get her out of here before it gets worse!" Fury said aloud for me to hear.

"If I move her too much, she'll die!" Bruce called out from near my lower stomach.

"Do something Bruce! I'm not going to loose her!" Clint practically screamed from above me, looking at Bruce and then me. I kept breathing, though it was staggered.

"Breathe, Emily. Please breathe." He said to me in a pleading tone, making me try to breathe but nothing was working.

"We need to get her in the plane and back to Helicarrier." Bruce said aloud to us, having me feel more numbness in my legs and arms now that it was getting worse. I tried to keep my eyes on Clint as much as I could, thinking that it would be the last time I ever saw them before I died.

"Don't leave me, Emily. I beg you, don't leave me here. I need you here with me. I love you, I can't loose you now when I need you." He said to me, his voice was filled with pain and I saw tears in his eyes. His tears hit my face softly, making me smile up at him. Just seeing him like this made me want to hold him close and tell him not to be afraid for me. The more I wanted to hold onto him and his voice, the more I was slipping away and into that seemed like darkness.

"I had to." I said in a broken tone, the only energy I had left was placed in those three words, seeing him look down at me with both confusion and pain as he tried to figure out what I just said to him. I mustered up some more energy, as much as had left before closing my eyes.

"Why did you do it?" He asked me, his voice was beyond broken now, but I smiled slightly underneath him, dying from a stab wound on top of a New York building and surrounded by my Avenger Comrades.

"You made me sane." I murmured back to him, closing my eyes once more. I heard him scream my name, then felt my body being shifted around and placed somewhere that felt safe and warm.

_I was dreaming again, but this time I was twenty five and no longer 3 years old. I was walking in the fields near my home, wearing a white cotton dress and nothing on my feet. The tall grass was touching my bare legs and my fingers as I walked towards the barn and the farmhouse. My hair was down and framing my face, making me feel lighter than ever. As I walked I heard things high in the air above me from the sky, almost like a soundtrack as I got closer and closer to the barn. All on my skin I felt warmth, soothing warmth touching everywhere on my skin.  
_

_"Keep pressure on that wound or else we'll loose her!"_

_"Hand me my tools!"_

_"Make sure she's breathing still, if you need it give her CPR if she stops breathing!"_

_I walked towards the back of the house, the house I knew very well and missed terribly. The back door was open, having me walk up the porch steps and peer inside. There was the table, with the stacks of letters on top and two coffee mugs still warm. Everything I remembered was still there, as if it was never moved nor touched since I last saw it at 15. The colors were the same, the smell of fresh paint and fresh bread, and the sight of the sun seeping through the stain glass window. I walked through the kitchen, touching things as I walked through and saw the hallway leading to the font door. The front door was wide open, having me see a light shining through that was so bright I had to squint and shield my eyes from it. _

_"How long until we reach Helicarrier?"_

_"3 minutes."_

_"That's not enough time!"_

_"I've stopped the bleeding, now I need to stitch her up!"_

_I saw the pictures along the hallway walls as I walked slowly, seeing the pictures of me with my parents. I was so little, sporting my auburn hair as I saw every picture of the three of us. One of them was with my father holding me, another was of my mother holding me. I smiled at these pictures, seeing me get older and wiser beyond my years. As I got older in the pictures, I saw more pictures of myself when I was 15 with the French Bureau. Seeing myself fighting others, hacking into computers, and growing older. But I saw two more pictures at the end of the hallway, two that made my heart break all over again. The first one was of myself with the Avengers, meeting them for the first time and seeing them smile at me. I smiled at this picture, then seeing the last picture on the wall and felt tears in my eyes. It was of Clint and I, dancing together in Italy by the Trevi Fountain and holding each other. Our foreheads were touching, eyes closed and smiles were seen on both of our faces.  
_

_"Her heart's slowing down."_

_"Bruce, what else is there to do?"_

_"We need to wait and see if she can pull through."_

_"Clint, back away from her."_

_"I am not leaving her, Natasha."_

_"Clint, we need to leave her be."_

_I walked slowly towards the front door, pushing open the screen door. The door squeaked as I did this, having me feel what felt like sunshine on my skin and face. I squinted, trying to hide the light from my eyes with my hand. I stood still at the front door, being surrounded by light. This was it, my moment to either die, or go back to the real world. Go back to pain, go back to a broken world without my parents there to love me. But to also go back to the Avengers, to fight with them once more. But most of all, to go back to Clint._

_If I chose to die, then I would leave him behind. We were going to travel, get away from the Avengers and be together for how long we wanted to. I never knew if he wanted a life with me, the rest of his life with me. If he was up for it, to get married and start a family if we ever had the chance. Those options were never there for me before I was recruited by the Avengers, and Clint gave me those options to choose and use. I wanted them, all of them, and I wanted them with Clint. He was worth the stab, and I would do it again over and over. I breathed in, feeling the light take over me then. It's like I said, I would take the stab over and over again._

_Just to make sure he would live. I loved him too much for him to die._


	33. No Value Left In Me

I woke up in my bed, blinking a few times at the ceiling and breathing in deeply. But as I breathed, I stopped suddenly from the sharp pain in my lower stomach. Breathing in slowly I moved my eyes around to see what it was nice and dark in Helicarrier. Somehow I was confused why I was still alive, since I clearly thought I was dead. But I was alive, feeling the cotton blanket covering me and the gauze wrapped on my arm and lower stomach. The gash on m forehead over my eye was stitched up as well, making it dull to blink,

I moved my head slightly to get feeling back there. I could hear the machine beeping away, letting me know that my heart was still beating and going somewhat strong. The room was tinted blue from the computer screens that were still one. This made me look at one of the screens, seeing my x ray of the puncture wound and the analysis of what will happen to me. This made my heart ache, knowing that the Avengers were fighting for me. It made me wonder what did happen to the Green Goblin, if they killed him or even left them there to die on that New York Building. With that in mind, I had questions as to what happened after I went unconscious, if we got out okay or if the police ever found us out.

My left arm was still bound in gauze, thicker and I could feel the stitches along my skin. But my right was occupied by something else, or someone else. My hand was being held gently in someone else's hand, seeing someone hunched over on the side of my head sleeping. I knew that hand; I've felt it before in mine and against my skin. Just feeling his hand in mine made me glad that I was alive again.

Clint.

He was fast asleep against my bed, having me see his upper body on my bed while he was sitting in a chair. I never saw him look so worn out and so defeated as he did fast asleep next to me. I could see his ruffled brown hair against the cotton sheets as was sell holding my hand. He was too peaceful for me to wake him, so I didn't. Just looking at him with bags under his eyes and still in his uniform from that night, it made me fall in love with him all over again. But knowing that if I didn't act, if I didn't stand in the away, he would be where I am right now and I would be where he was. I hated the thought, it sickened me. He shouldn't be the only one in the relationship that was bent on protection. I wanted to protect him, I needed it.

I needed control.

I heard the door opening next to me and I looked over, tearing my eyes away from Clint and seeing Steve walk in with his hands in his pockets. I smiled at him, glad that he got okay with only a few scratches on his face. He walked into the room nice and quiet, making me feel glad to see someone other than a sleepy Clint who was still out.

"He's been there since we got back and stitched you up." He explained to me, pointing to the sleeping Clint. I knew he was telling the truth, since Steve was a man who would lie on constant rotation. Not like Tony.

"How long has it been?" I finally asked, feeling how raspy my voice was and squinting from the dryness. Steve could see this in my face, walking over to my nightstand on the left side of my bed. He grabbed the pitched of water there, poured some water into the plastic cup and handed it to me. Slowly I took it in my left hand, trying not to burst the stitches open in my lower arm. I grabbed the cup and brought it up to my lips, drinking it down in my go and smiling from the relief.

"Two days." Steve said back to me, sitting in the spare chair on my left side, "As soon as we got you back here Bruce stitched up both your arm and lower stomach. You suffered from major blood loss, but thankfully we got you here in time before we almost lost your permanently."

"What happened after I passed out?" I asked him with curiosity.

"We got you on the plane and back here as fast as we could. Iron Man stayed behind with the Green Goblin and made sure he was handed over to the authorities. We got out in time so that we wouldn't have to handle the police. The Germany Head was taken back to his work and we explained what was going to happen to him." I nodded my head, knowing that they would take care of things without me there. I then thought of Fury, worried that he was going to tear my head off.

"Now I have to ask, how mad is Fury at me?" I asked him in a worried tone, seeing him pause for a moment before answering me.

"Not as mad as I thought he would be. He was just mad at you for taking the knife, but then again so was he." Steve said aloud, pointing to Clint once more. I sighed as I handed him the cup once more. He filled it up and placed it on the nightstand in case I needed it, bless him.

"I'll get a earful from him when he wakes up." I muttered him, hearing Steve chuckle from my remark. But I saw something shift in his eyes as he went back to being serious.

"You know, knowing how Clint handles situations like this, I never saw him act the way he did when you got hurt." Steve said to me in a serious tone. I looked from him to Clint, who was still sleeping in his spot. I hated doing that to him, making him be in fear and worry over me. It was last thing I ever wanted for him, yet I did that to make sure he was still alive.

"I didn't want it to happen to him." I merely replied aloud, seeing Clint breathe in and out on my bed.

"So you would take the knife and almost get yourself killed. Did you honestly think that Clint wanted to see you almost die in his arms?" Steve asked me, letting me see that he was just as confused as to why I did that in front of everyone.

"I would never want him to go through something like that, you know that Steve." I replied back to him, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. How was I going to word this in order to make him understand?

"Have you ever been willing to put yourself in the line of danger for someone you loved, someone you loved more than yourself?" I asked him aloud, looking over at him from the bed, "Clint has been the only person that I've ever loved deeply. I'm not a person who thinks of myself before others, in fact I placed others in front of me. It's a scary thought but there it is. In my eyes, his life was more precious than mine."

He was quiet for a moment as he listened to me, making me hope that he somewhat understood what was going on through my brain. HIs face got softer after I spoke, seeing him nod his head to show that he understood. He might of done this himself when be was a soldier in the 1940's, I do remember that there was woman that he was in love with. I realized that he did do the same when he was frozen in the ice.

He sacrificed for her.

"I don't think he would agree on that, since I see he views your life over his." He said to me, both agreeing and disagreeing with me. I smiled slightly at him.

"I know." I replied back to him simply.

"But I know where you're coming from." He said to me in a lighter tone. I was glad he was on the same page as me, at least one other Avenger was. I felt something move new to me on my other side, seeing that it was Clint. He was starting to wake up, having me smile widely at the sight of him waking up. Damn, I was such a sap for him.

"I'll leave the two of you alone." Steve said aloud as he got up from the chair, "Just promise me something. If you ever do something like that in the near future, at least give us a warning."

"I'll try to remember that." I replied back to him, seeing him smile slightly and then leave the room. I was glad to talk to him when I could, just the two of us away from the Avengers. He had a good person with a good heart; something that I knew was unique in comparison to the rest of the team. It was quiet again in the room as I looked back over at Clint. I saw him blink a few times and take in a deep breath before moving his head around to look right at me. His blue eyes, mixing in with the blue in the room, that is what all it took for me to nearly cry on the spot. I miss his eyes, alone with his voice and touch. I missed him in general, and the thought of being dead and not seeing him again was killing me on the inside.

He kept his eyes on me, the wave of relief over his face as he saw that I was okay. Still holding my hand I saw him tilt his head up to me and a small smile was on his face.

"How long were you watching me?" He asked me, making me think back to when I asked him the exact same question in his bed some time ago. He didn't angry, nor was he happy about it. It sounded more like relief in his tone as he asked me that. I merely smiled at him and felt our happiness coming back together.

"Not long enough."

* * *

"I'm sorry." I said to him, seeing him sit next to me and look at the floor. After he woke up, I knew he wanted to talk about what happened and why I did that to him. Why I took the knife instead of him. He was very quiet then, still holding my hand and having a look of seriousness on his face that gave me chills. The way he was sitting there made me feel like I was in trial for a crime, but was it a crime?

"All I want to know, is why." he said aloud from his spot, then looking over at me with a serious look on his face. I could tell he was still confused on how it all happened and how it went down.

"I wasn't going to let him touch you." I said to him in a calm tone, not wanting to raise my voice at him. He was going to argue with me about my safety, I knew it was coming.

"But you almost died, Emily. Do you know how hard it was to see you there, with a knife sticking out of you." Clint said in almost a shaky tone, making me think that he was about to be in tears once more like before, "I was never scared that bad before, never that worried that I was going to loose the one good thing in my life."

"Do you think I wanted to go through the same thing if you took the hit?" I asked him, seeing him shake his head.

"It's not the same." He said back to me.

"How is it not the same, Clint? Because I'm a woman, and I automatically need protection? Please enlighten me." I asked him, raising my tone slightly and getting mad at him for playing the woman card on me.

"I was assigned to protect you, not you protecting me. It was bad enough seeing you get stabbed by that guy in the arm, then seeing you almost die in my arms was the worst thing ever to happen to me." He said to me, his voice was becoming bitter.

"You cannot protect me from everything in this life, Clint." I said to him, seeing him go quiet after a moment or two, "I know how you are with me when it comes to control. But dammit, Clint. I will not loose you if something happens to you." When I said this, he looked up at me from his spot. I could tell he was still trying to fight this, but I was going to hold my ground with him.

"It's not going to be me that needs all the protection in this world. You'll need protection too, don't deny it. I did it because…" I trailed off, feeling the adrenaline rush come over me from just thinking about it over again. I had to be simple with it, be simple and blunt with not sugar coating.

"I did because I didn't think of my life as valuable as yours." As soon as I said it, his eyes shifted from anger towards me to confusion and sadness. I stayed quiet, looking at my stitched up arm and thinking how that was true. I never saw myself as valuable when it came to being a human. I was genus that was all. It was sad tot think about, but it was true in my eyes. Way to put myself down with my boyfriend and from almost dying.

"It's not true." I heard next to me, having me look over at Clint and see him sit on top of the bed in front of me. He grasped my hand tightly in his and placed his other hand on my upper arm, clenching slightly as he stared at me with determination.

"I don't believe you, when you say that you're not valuable. Emily, you are more valuable to me than anything I've ever had or seen." Clint explained to me, his voice was lighter with emotion. "You are a value to this team, with all you know and what you can do. You're a value to your parents, which is why they left to protect you. And most of all, you are a value to me. I don't ever want you to doubt your value or your worth again. I love you too much to loose you."

I was quiet then, seeing him look down at out joined hand on his lap and making me wish that I never said that to them. But then again, hearing that from him was a wake up call on my value to everyone that I knew. He reminded me of what I was worth in this world and on this team, something I needed from almost dying. I looked down as well, a small smile on my face.

"Our communication sucks." I muttered aloud, without thinking about it. But I saw Clint smile from in front of me; a small smile and I knew he was somewhat back to his normal self. I smiled as well, missing his own smile and trying to remember when I saw that particular smile last. His smile widened and I heard him chuckle, making me chuckle as well. But about a second of chuckling I squinted and gasped as I felt the lower stomach stitches hit me hard. Clint stopped laughed and looked at my stomach, a small smile still on his face as I leaned back in the bed.

"I have to be in a bed for two weeks? It's not going to happen." I said in a groan as Clint rubbed the top of my hand with his thumb.

"You did this to yourself, don't blame Bruce and his orders to you." He reminded me, making me look over at him and see a small smile still on his face.

"You are so not helping." I said to him in a bitter tone and he laughed, getting up from the bed and walking over stand closer to my upper body, kissing the back of my hand in the process.

"But I feel better knowing that my girlfriend can handle a seizure, punch to the face, and two stabbings." Clint said in a joking tone, making me laugh a bit more and than shrug at him.

"Safe to say that I'm tougher than you." I joked with him, seeing him eye me as he leaned closer to me. I felt his lips against me barely as he placed his spare hand on my neck to hold me still. I closed my eyes he whispered against my lips before kissing me.

"Much tougher, and sexier."


	34. What Do You Wanna Do?

Things went back to normal after the Green Goblin went to jail. We waited to hear if he did escape, but no luck. He was going to stay there for awhile and not come out. I was beyond glad that he wasn't coming out, then hearing later that Peter was going to stay on the team. He was young and he wanted to get out of the city, something I could relate to. Fury gave us the green light to go off on our own if we wanted to, and he would call us when we are needed next in the world. After getting a earful from him about the concept of risking my neck for a team member, I was glad he was somewhat forgiving on me.

I was the last to leave, along with Clint. The rest of the group trickled down one by one to their respective homes. Tony offered me a place to stay at his tower, since he had some good technology for me to play around with. Thor was staying there was well since he wasn't going home anytime soon, so I got to talk to him during my bed rest. Plus it was nicer than being on the Helicarrier while trying to heal my wounds. I didn't want to go to a hospital, it was too harsh of a place for me to stay. It made me glad to have Tony as a friend. Pepper made sure that I had the best machines and medicine so that I would get better. He gave me my own room with a view of the city below us, with the most comfortable bed to sit in and plenty of gadgets to play while I was resting. Tony knew how I ticked, bless him.

Clint helped me get settled at Tony's flat, and Bruce would come over every day and check on me since I was still supposed to be in a bed and not move for a solid week. That week was pure torture, having me look out the window and wish that I could be out there and feel the sun on my skin. Thor would come and tell me war stories that he use to have when he was back in his home world, and that way he would describe them make me think of him as a child. He had just joy in talking about breathing warriors with his hammer, or saying how high he would fly in the air.

Clint would visit though, everyday in fact. He would bring me good food to eat and talk about some of the weapons he's been working on, later kissing me in the bed when no one was looking. Since the stabbing incident he was more inclined to be near me and no where else. I stopped complaining about that then, enjoying him more and more.

After a solid week of no moving my lower stomach or left arm, Bruce gave me free reign to move around the flat were I was staying and nothing more, since he wanted to make sure I can still walk and function at the same time. Thankfully, Clint would help me by walking with me around the outside balcony Tony had at his flat. Taking my hand in his and placing a hand on my lower back, we would walk slowly and talk about what we were going to do as soon as I was able to be completely better. He promised to take me to Ireland, something I remember the both of us were talking about and discussing together.

As I was promoted to using a cane, I found myself occupied with Tony and his work. I would help with his computers and his suit upgrades, with the help go his computer Jarvis who would assist me. I loved being back in front of a computer once more, it made me feel like I was back at home. My arm was perfectly fine by then, just healing up to become a intense scar for the world to see. But I never saw it as a scar, but like a battle wound to show off. My lower stomach, on the other hand, that was a differently story. The only two people that were allowed to ever see that scar were myself and Clint.

And I had no shame in that.

Bruce gave me the green light so I can go out into the world, still on the cane for another couple of weeks. Thankfully, Tony made me a cane that was fit for the little fighter in me: a sword hiding in the middle of the cane with the handle on the top. The cane itself was a dark mahogany with celtic writing on the side. He told me Pepper looked up my first and last name in the Celtic language, having it engraved on the side. I raised my eyebrow at him when he gave it to me.

"Celtic? Really?" I said in a light tone. He smiled and shrugged in front of me.

"Yeah well, I know how you wanna keep your heritage alive, Lucky Charms." he said to me, making me laugh as I placed the cane on the ground, clutching the top with my hand and leaning on it. It was made perfectly in my eyes, not one thing I could change. After thanking him plenty of times, Clint and I went off on our own mission.

To Ireland.

We stayed there for about 2 weeks, going from little town to little town and being content with the two of us. Sneaking into bars and walking along the dim streets, then resorting to our room to enjoy our intimate moments alone. No matter how many times we did get intimate, every time I would blush at the thought and get those butterflies go through my veins. But there he was, holding me close and giving me all his love in our bed, and I was beyond happy with that. We would kiss each others scars. For me, it was the scars on his arms, back and chest. As for him, it was my scars on collarbone, back and arms. We did this to prove that our love was beyond the skin; it was much deeper than that. He would steal kisses from me, buy me flowers every once in awhile and when I wasn't looking, gaze at the scar on my left arm. When he did this, I saw him look with somewhat sadness in his eyes. But he would kiss the scar lovingly, showing me that he was no longer mourning from what happened.

We both were never the type to go to all of the sights, just be together in a local pub and enjoy that moment. We both needed that time away from the group, and they all understood. I remembered one moment when it was early morning in the little town of Galway. We were staying in the House Hotel and leaving in a few days back to America and back to the team.

It was foggy that day and I remember waking up to a cold spot next to the bed. At first I was confused, but I looked over seeing Clint at the window. All he was doing was staring out the window wearing one of his S.H.I.E.L.D jackets and his pajama pants. With his ruffled hair and tired eyes, I could tell he had a lot on his mind. Getting up and throwing a jacket over me, I walked over behind him and wrapped my arms around him. I felt him place his hands on mine that were resting on his stomach, placing my chin on his shoulder. He hummed as I kissed the side of his head and smiled.

"Let's go on a walk." I said to him in a murmur, seeing him look at me from his spot in my arms.

"It's 5:30, way too early for a walk." he said in a small smile, making me shrug as I kissed his cheek.

"It'll wake us up. Plus, you can tell me what's on your mind." I replied back to him, seeing him smile as me as I pulled away from him to get dressed in comfy clothes. I knew he had a lot on his mind, probably of going back to America and to the team again. We discussed before him leaving the team for good and being a private investigator, but I didn't know if he still wanted to go through with it.

We walked down the street, turned the corner and walked until we reached the bay leading into the ocean. Hand in hand, with me still using my cane, Clint told me what was on his mind. He didn't know whether or not to go back to S.H.I.E.L.D. or leave for good. As we walked to the bay heard him give me the pros and cons to being with the Avengers. It troubled me slightly to know that he was thinking about this to the point of not sleeping.

We stopped by a fence that was on the grassy area, the ocean right in front of us as I saw Clint lean on the fence. HIs hands bracing the wood in front of him and having me lean my back on the fence next to him. The sun was not up yet, so it was still dark slightly but getting lighter by the minute.

"I don't know if I see myself with S.H.I.E.L.D in ten years, maybe 15. But going back, I know what I'm doing and nothing really changes for me." He explained me as I rubbed his back in a loving manner. Clint was looking out to sea, still thinking in his head on what to do.

"Does being on this team make you genuinely happy, with the Avengers?" I asked him aloud, seeing him look back at me and having me see the wind go through his hair. He paused for a second and then had a small smile on his face.

"I'm only happy with the Avengers. We have more action when it comes to that team." he said aloud to him, having me nod my head in agreement.

"On the downside being on the verge of death at every mission." he said aloud, making me think back on all of the times I almost died. Every single one was a close call, having me be thankful that I had the brain to get out of there.

"But you get to use your bow." I added, seeing him nod his head with a grin on his face. He then faced me completely and framed my face gently in his hands. I placed my hands on his hips and saw a genuine smile on his face.

"I find myself the happiest when you're with me." he said to me, having me smile widely and sneak in a kiss on his lips. Through the bitter cold of the morning wind hitting our faces, and hearing my stomach gurgle for breakfast, I was still beyond happy at the two of there kissing in Ireland.

It was bliss.

* * *

"What do you wanna do?" I heard behind me as I held the paperwork in my hands and faced my childhood home. It was near noon on a Sunday in Iowa, a week since we came back from Ireland and got settled in Clint's apartment in New York. As soon as we got back I wanted to get things squared away with the house my parents left me. I went to the family attorney, whom I remember seeing once or twice when I was young. We met with the will and paperwork, having me hear that I inherited all of their savings and everything they had left in their name. That included at least 1 Million dollars and the whole house with barn. I was surprised they had a million dollars, but the attorney clammed they were saving money since they got together.

Clint and I were standing in front of the house, the both of us were in our S.H.I.E.L.D Uniforms and knowing that Fury was going to pick us up in a few minutes to take us to Helicarrier. Fury made me a full agent for S.H.I.E.L.D when I came back from Ireland, claiming that he could use my hacking skills in the future when I wasn't with the Avengers. I took the job, now giving Clint an excuse to stay on the team as a assassin.

I looked down at the paperwork, seeing everything in my name as I looked up at the house once more. Memories were flooding back to me, good and bad. It reminded me of when I was on the verge of death, walking through the house and seeing everything new again. I had the choice or either selling the house, or keeping it when I wanted to be done with S.H.I.E.L.D for the rest of my life.

I never thought of my future, up until I met Fury and the Avengers. My life as a hacker seemed meaningless, filled with only typing and hacking to the point of boredom. But as I was taken to Helicarrier my whole life changed. I knew I was a part of something bigger than my own self. I was scared at some points, of being killed and of giving my heart away so easily. But I knew that once I gave my heart to Clint, he was never going to take it and use it harshly. He was better than that.

And he changed me for the better.

I looked behind me and saw him about 10 feet away from me, looking serious as I walked back to him. I held the paperwork under my arm as I looked back at the house with a small smile on my face.

"Might as well keep it, just in case I want to settle down here away from the world." I replied to him, feeling him wrap a arm around my waist in a loving manner. He smiled at me as I looked over at him. I knew our love was going to be a long time, something inside of me told me so. I didn't know if it was the way he would hold me, or tell me he loved me. But I knew he was never going to let me go, and I didn't want him to. He lovingly kissed the side of my head.

"Since when do you want to settle?" He asked me in a joking tone.

"Since I might want to have a family in the near future, when we both are washed out from our jobs." I said to him back in a big smiled, seeing him eye me from his spot. He then shrugged as I wrapped my own arm around his waist.

"Can you even picture me as a father? I think I would be horrible." He said in a big grin and I laughed from his remark.

"I think you would be a wonderful dad, not that we are thinking about that now." I said to him, seeing Clint both shake his head and smile at the same time. I then knew we were on the same page, Clint and I. Keeping the house for the future, our future. I then our earpieces buzzing as Clint leaned in to kiss me lovingly.

"Agents Barton and Tresta, we are inbound in 30 seconds." I heard in our earpieces from Fury as Clint kissed me lightly and pulled away. As he did this I smiled at him widely. It was odd for the two of us to stand in a wheat field, clad in uniform, and nothing was disturbing us for a moment or two. But to me, it was pure happiness and I never wanted it to end.

"I love you Clint." I said aloud to him, seeing his grin grow bigger from that.

"I love you Emily." he replied back to me, sneaking in another kiss on the lips that took my breath away. I then heard the plane behind us, having the both of us look behind and see out plane coming in from the sky. The black plane in contrast to the golden wheat field was making it stick out harshly, but so was out dark blue uniforms. Clint pulled away from me so I can reached down and grab the cane that was next to him on the floor. We both started to walk over to the plan, hearing the plane's engine roar in the gentle wind of Iowa. Before we reached the plane I looked back one last time, at the house that was my old life. My old demons, pains, and suffering. The I looked back to the plane, seeing Clint wait for me at the door with a small smile on his face. This was my future. It was filled with happiness, adventure, mystery, and love. There was no going back from this, but when was I afraid of that?

Bring it.


	35. Epilogue

**6 Months after New York**

"I have a location on Clint now." I heard in my earpiece as I looked down from my perch that I made in the corner of the tower. My hand was holding the arrow in hand as the other was holding the bow, hoodie over my head and waiting for the time to strike. I was using Clint's bow and arrows after I killed the men who took them from him. I was wearing my old Avengers uniform with my bangs french braided to the side away from my eyes. They were in a courtyard, having me be three stories up and facing them in the opposite corner. Clint was below in the courtyard, hands tied behind his back, tied to a large wooden beam and looking like he was bruised to a bloody pulp. I drew the arrow, aiming right at the man in front of him at his backside who was the military head of the base.

We were on a mission in Germany to find and kill the head of the Germany Secret Service. Clint was sent to kill him, I went in as backup for him and his eyes when he couldn't see. All was well, up to the point that he was found and captured after doing the deed. I knew I had to get him out, though I knew Fury wouldn't like it.

I stopped listening to him months ago.

Since Clint and I were still going strong in our relationship, we became a packaged deal. When one of us would do in for the job, the other would be the eyes and Plan B. I had a handful of missions for my own doing, and Clint would follow. We didn't argue with one another, knowing that the two of us together would be deadlier than just one. We still went on dates, but those dates would be in foreign countries running from the authorities after we did a job. It wasn't typical.

But we were never typical as a couple.

With this one, I knew we had the one man in front of Clint, then ten others surrounding him in case he was going to do something that was stupid. I waited for the right moment, and I knew when it was going to happen. Knowing Clint, he was going to wait for my gadget that would latch on his metal cuffs, then being able to fight himself. We had plenty of fights and talks about control and who would protect who. I would win some, and he would win others. But when it came down to the very end of the stick: we were going to look out for each other.

I got up from my spot in the corner and walked through the very narrow walkway high above the courtyard. Throwing the bow and arrow in the harness over my shoulder, I kept my eyes on Clint the whole time. I knew his tracker was sewn in his jacket was still on with a microphone.

"Tell us who you are working for." The man asked in his heavy German Accent. I saw two soldiers in the walkway, in my way of getting closer to Clint. I instantly hid in the corner as one of them walked my way to go on patrol. Slowly, I took out a small knife and as soon as he was close enough, wrapped my hand over his mouth and stabbed him once in the back. He fell without a sound as I crawled a bit farther down the walkway.

"I'm not gonna tell you." Clint said aloud, having me sigh under my breath. Clint was going to play dirty with this guy, getting him even more hurt. The other solider saw me, having me reach into my pocket and throw out at him a gadget that would shock him. I saw him shake my a tazor as I ran over, shoving him to the inside of the walkway so that he wouldn't fall out into the open courtyard air. He fell in a thump as I ran over quietly to be right above and behind Clint.

"I'm in position." I said aloud in my earpiece, knowing Fury was on the other end.

"Affirmative. Widow has the plane ready for your signal when Clint is free." Fury said aloud to me in my ear, "Keep it clean and fast."

"I read you." I replied back to him, taking out the bow and an arrow once more and drawing it, aiming at the man's head. I knew he was going to make the move soon as I waited for it. The wind was hollowing through the area as I crouched behind the walls, hiding in plain sight. I then saw him place his hand on the gun strapped to his holster on his hip, having me pull back the bow slightly and shoot him. The arrow then right through his head, seeing him stagger backwards and fall on his back.

Within a second I drew another arrow, aiming straight down as I heard the soldiers scream out in German. _**Who shot that? Get him out of here! **_I had the gadget attached to the end of the arrow, ready to strike as I shot down at Clint's cuffs behind him. The gadget latched on, seeing sparks fly as he freed himself. I took the harness from over my shoulder, shot the bow and arrow inside as I heard other gunfire, hitting some of the soldiers in the courtyard. That was Fury's doing, since he sent in two more S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers with me. Clint looked behind himself and around my area to find me as I threw out the harness, bow and arrow inside. Clint caught it, retreating the bow and drawing an arrow as I saw a German soldier look up at me from the second story. He shot at me, having me duck back and pull out my climbing rope from my backpack. I wrapped it around a stone beam and attached it, having myself be attached by the belt I was wearing. Without hesitating, I ran out of the walkway and into the open. I felt myself falling and then grabbed the rope, thanking myself for wearing gloves that day as I slowed down behind the beam.

As I cut myself free, I heard more gunfire around me. I drew out the shotgun that was sandwhiched between by back and backpack and walked around the corner, killing two soldiers shooting at me. Clint was shooting away as I stood next to him and shot another solider on the second story near us.

"Perfect timing on you part, sweetheart." Clint said to me in a grunt as we walked closer to the center of the courtyard. We were still firing at soldiers as I saw more coming in. They must of heard what was going on from outside.

"I was waiting for a opportune moment." I replied back to him, seeing him smirk as he shot a soldier in the arm. The solider didn't fall, but he ran towards him. Clint grabbed a spare arrow, hitting him in the neck before the solider could touch him. I swung the barrel of my shotgun at the head of another soldier to my left that was about to shove me down.

"What is it with you and opportune moments?" he asked me as I threw down another solider coming at me.

"Sounds like you don't trust me with you bow and arrow." I joked to him, seeing him laugh slightly.

"I guess this is a good time to ask you." he said in a grunt as he whacked a soldier hard in the face. I raised a eyebrow at him, confused as to what he meant as I kicked another solider hard in the stomach.

"Ask me what?" I asked him in wonder. We both dodged another soldier coming at both of us. Clint punched him the face, having him fall down as I kneed his head. He fell backwards and was out cold.

"Well, I was going to ask you something really important later tonight at dinner, but since we are but fighting our asses off and may not survive, "He explained having me laugh from his dry humor of not surviving, "I might as well ask you now."

"Clint, you better tell me what is going on in your brain." I said to him as I ducked a soldier trying to hit me. I punched him out in the face as Clint swung his bow at two soldiers, knowing them both out. He looked at me directly, having me look back at him. We both were breathing heavily as the soldiers were dwindling down.

"Will you marry me?" He asked me, making me pause and look at him with shock in my eyes. He just asked me to marry him, in all places at the wrong time. I was thinking it was some kind of joke, but the look in his eyes told me that he was deadly serious. We were both fighting to get out of dual Germany, covered in sweat and in uniform and waiting for Fury to get out of there. This was huge for me, hearing that he wanted to spend his life with me as his wife. I thought of it as a dream come true, or just simply a dream.

"What did you say?" I asked him in disbelief. I blinked a few times, making sure this was no dream that I was having. But I saw Clint give me a nervous smile.

"Marry me, Clover." He said in almost a demanding tone. Of all places and at that time, why ask me then? I pictured it at a certain moment at dinner, or alone in our room. But now? What was he thinking? I wanted to say yes, it was on the tip of my tongue as I threw out my gun and shot at a soldier ten feet away from the both us without looking. He fell to the floor in a grunt as I still looked shock.

"You call that a marriage proposal?" I asked him in almost a shout, seeing him smirk and the both of us look up. The S.H.I.E.L.D. plane was flying over the courtyard and I could see red hair in the pilot seat. Widow waved down at us from her spot.

"Is that a yes?" Clint asked me, having me look over at him with no more shock, but a wide smile on my face. I felt him take my hand in his, both of our gloved hands holding not each other tightly as I breathed out slowly. Who was I to say no to something like this: to be with Clint for the rest of our lives and to call him my husband. For him to call me his wife. Our relationship was build on a solid foundation of respect, protecting, adventure and love. It was all I needed from him, so the answer was simply clear.

"You bet it is."

* * *

**2 Years after New York **

"Would you like anything else from the store?" I heard Pepper ask me aloud as I sat on the couch, trying to make sure my back was no longer on fire. I shook my head as she smiled at me. It was a nice summer afternoon at the top flat of Stark Tower, making me grateful that the apartment that Clint and I owned was not far from Stark Tower. It would be been horrid if we were farther away, given the fact that I was 8 months pregnant and about to give birth in two weeks.

After Clint proposed to me in Germany, we had a small wedding at a little chapel in Ireland 3 months later in September, it sounded a bit odd to have it on Helicarrier. All of the Avengers were there, along with Pepper, Bruce's girlfriend Betty Ross, Thor's girlfriend Jane, Peter Parker's friend Gwen Stacy and some S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers we knew personally. Clint and I never really had good friends outside out work field, but it really didn't matter to us. It was small and simple, wearing a nice simple wedding dress I found with Natasha and Clint wearing a nice suit provided by Stark.

We went on our honeymoon for two weeks in the Virgin Islands. Those two weeks were amazing in my book. Days spent out on the beach and in the water, nights spent in our room alone together. It was bliss for the two of us, though we missed being out in the field. After the two weeks we came back and immediately going back to work. It wasn't a fact that we didn't want time alone, we have all that time in the world when we weren't in assignment. We just missed being in the action and being on the run. It was a rush for the both of us, as husband and wife.

Mostly for me, Emily Barton.

Then in February, about 5 months after being married, I found out that I was pregnant by 10 weeks. At first I was beyond scared, knowing that what was about to happen to the two of us. If we brought a child into this world, into our world of running and fighting, it could be serious damage. That was the last thing that I wanted, to bring damage into this. It wasn't that I didn't want a child with Clint. I did, more than anything. Clint did want children, after talking about it with him a few times after begin married. But we were thinking of doing that a bit farther down the road, not so soon.

However, Clint was beyond happy with the news. He gave me a huge hug and swung me around in his arms, making me laughed as me kissed me softly. I then knew things were going to be okay with the two of us, better even since we were going to be parents. After our celebration, we had to talk to Fury about what was going to happen. Of course, Clint's worry was my safety. So instantly I was off the missions concept, meaning no more going into the field and getting my hands dirty with a gun. However, I persuaded him to have me stay with him via earpiece and computer monitoring. This made me feel better knowing that I knew where he was and I could help him if I needed to. Fury accepted this, and we told him as soon as our child was born we were going off the grid for the first couple of years.

The rest of the team was happy for me. Especially Tony, in which he would tease the both of us on being future parents. A couple of time he would joke about hiding the bow and arrow from our child, not wanting to have him or he be like Clint. Clint in return would give him death glares, but I persuaded him to be nice about it. Everyone else on the team gave us happy smiles and winks as I told them the news.

"This calls for a celebration!" Thor said aloud as we sat at the round table after hearing my news. Clint sat next to me, clutching my hand as we both looked at him with wide smiles, "We must prepare a feast in your honor!"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Steve said aloud from his spot next to Natasha, who just smirked at me.

"I say we get whatever Clover wants, since the cravings are going to be starting soon." She suggested as they all looked over at me. I blushed in my spot as Clint kissed the back of my hand.

"Whatever she wants." He said aloud, looking at me in a loving way. I heard Tony fake gag across the table.

"Please spare me the sappiness, I want to hold down my lunch." He said in a grunt as he got up from the table.

"Oh please Stark, don't tell me you're not the least bit happy for the two of them." Bruce said aloud in a amused tone. Tony gave a small laugh and looked at the group of us with his hands out in front of him like a offering.

"I'm filled with so much happiness that I can spew out rainbows. But just thinking about their kid growing up with us around, now that is just weird." He explained, having me raise an eyebrow at him.

"Come on, think about it. The kid is gonna inherit Hawkeye's bow and arrow skills, not to mention his dry sense of humor. And from Clover here it's gonna be her brains, and her looks. Because let's face it, she's better looking than you." Tony said aloud, looking at Clint. Clint, from where I was sitting, was trying real hard not to hit him but he shrugged in agreement. That alone made me laugh next to him.

"Is that a compliment or a insult?" Steve asked in a small smile, seeing Tony wave him off. Steve just laughed in his spot and leaned back in his chair.

"Anyway, I'm just curious as to how this Little Hawk is gonna be." Tony said in a shrug and I only glared at him with a grin on his face.

"I predict it shall be a warrior like the parents, a proper one!" Thor suggest aloud from his spot with a bit grin on his face.

"Do you guys even want to know what you're having?" Widow asked us aloud from her spot at the table.

"We want it to be a surprise." I replied back to her with a shrug.

"I predict a boy, so that means we'll have a little archer running around here." Tony said to us with a small smirk on his face. I could tell from my spot next to him Clint wanted to slug him in the face.

"I'm pushing for a girl." Steve said aloud in a shrug, seeing Widow smile widely at his remark. This was making the whole process of having a baby a bit better, knowing that I did have a support system behind me. With what Tony said, about out baby and what it was going to end up being, it gave me a hint of worry. I knew he wasn't the only one concerned about the outcome of our baby. Plus, he called my baby Little Hawk.

That is insulting.

Throughout the pregnancy, I was helping Clint and any other S.H.I.E.L.D agents in the field behind a computer and behind their eyes and ears from above. I didn't mind it all, though I would have to use the restroom every 5 minutes and my stomach wouldn't hold down what I wanted. But it was worth it, seeing Clint came back safe every time with hugs and kisses for me. On the days he wasn't working we would be together talking about what was going to happen to us within the year. He could tell I was scared about the baby growing up here. He admitted he was scared too, something I never thought I would hear. But something clicked inside of him during the fourth month I was pregnant, something loving. He would stroke my stomach when I would sit next to him, look at me lovingly while I wasn't paying attention, and other little things. It wasn't until I was going into my 6th month when he spoke up about what was on his mind.

"I don't want to be my father." He said to me as we were both laying in our bed at our apartment. It was late that night and Clint woke up from a nightmare, which was rare for him. As soon as he woke I did as well, and after hearing him plead me to go back to sleep, I finally got it out of him. I was laying on my back as Clint was sitting up next to him, his hand on my leg as I stroked his back.

"What makes you think that?" I asked him as he looked straight ahead.

"I don't know. I just never really had a dad ever." He said to me, looking down at my belly for a moment and then at me, "My father wasn't even a father. It just that he's all I ever learned from when it came to being a father." I heard the hurt in his voice as he said this to me. I knew about his past, when his father was abusive on him and his brother when they were boys. It pained me knowing that he went through that as only a child.

Gently, I took his hand in mine and felt him squeeze my hand without moving or saying anything. Without hesitation, he moved to lay on the bed with me, but his head on my upper stomach and facing my swollen belly. I was shocked when he did this, feeling him breath in deeply as I ran my fingers through his hair. Just seeing him like this: head on my upper stomach near my chest and facing my pregnant stomach, wrapping one arm underneath me and the other around the belly. He was being so vulnerable to me, showing me how scared he was of himself in the future. But how could he think such a think about himself when I knew he was full go protection and love?

"You are not your father, nor will you ever be like him." I said to him in a soft tone, feeling his bare fingers on my bare stomach, "I know you're going be a wonderful father. Don't ever doubt yourself again, sweetheart." When I called him sweetheart his hand that was under my lower back and attached to my hip squeezed slightly. I placed my other arm around his shoulder and rubbed his upper arm.

"What do you see in me?" he asked me, making me stop my movements in his hair and upper arm for a moment and wonder what he meant. But I knew I asked him the same thing some time before, when we were younger and vulnerable. I smiled, raking my fingers in his hair once more and hearing him take a shaky breath.

"I see a man who knows how to fight for what he believes in and for what he loves." I explained to him, "I see a man who is willing to place his own life on the line for others, as scary as it sounds. I see a strong man, a intelligent man, and a man who knows how to love someone, and never let them go." The last thing I said I felt a swelling wave of love towards him. It was true, he knew how to love and never let go of a person. He did it with me, and now we are married. I knew after every fight we had, every argument about my safety and well being, Clint was never going to let me go or walk away. He needed to hear it, like when I needed to hear it from him so long ago. As a reaction to it, he kissed my belly in a loving way and I squeezed his shoulder. I knew out discussion was done, and he was content.

So, now being 8 months pregnant and due in two weeks in July, I was doing as much as I could before the energy that my child was sucking out of me got the best of me. Fury understood by this point I just needed to be away from the computers and have rest. The team threw us a baby shower in my 7th month, Avenger style. Tony got us gender neutral toys, though he swore it was going to be a boy. Natasha got us a crib, making me thankful that she was named the Godmother. Thor, with the help of Jane, gave me plenty of clothes for the baby. Steve bought us a crib and high chair, and Bruce pitched in with the toys. Some of the toys included weaponry, namely a plastic bow and arrow only to poke fun at Clint. Clint merely laughed, telling me under his breath that are child will not touch any weaponry until he is 16 years old.

Bless my husband.

When I was at Stark Tower, Bruce would monitor me even though pregnancy was not his strong point. He told me to walk around as much as I could to keep blood flowing and help move along the pregnancy. So I walked around, corner to corner of the top flat of Stark Tower. Clint would be gone at Helicarrier most of the day, getting things ready for our departure and absence. We told Fury to give us 2 years, then we would decide if we wanted to come back.

I was wearing a maternity shirt that Pepper got me, along with stretchy pants and no shoes as I waddled from the kitchen area over to the balcony. It was getting close to sunset in New York, having me feel the breeze of the open door. I walked through the glass doors into the open air and seeing the pink clouds in the sky. I smiled, breathing in the cool air as I wrapped a arm around my bigger belly. Pretty soon I was going to be a mother, and that was a completely new adventure for me to encounter. Something deep inside of me wished my parents would be alive to see this. They would of been the best grandparents. Hell, I wished they were alive to be at the wedding, see and meet Clint. They would of loved him, I knew that for certain. But I knew I had the Avengers to take care of us and my baby, when Clint wasn't doing it himself.

"Hey beautiful." I heard behind me, having me look over my shoulder and see Clint standing by the glass doors. He was in his uniform, hands shoved in his pockets and a smile on his face. I smiled back at him, feeling my hair flow in the wind and get in my face as he walked over to me. When he was near me, Clint moved the hair from my eyes and wrapped both arms around me in a loving manner. Both of his hands rested on my big belly, having me lean against him and smile as he kissed my hair.

"Missed you at work." he murmured to me, having me sigh in content.

"I miss work." I replied back to him, hearing him chuckle from behind me. It was horrid not being able to be back at Helicarrier sometimes, seeing the others work while I had to stay behind and be patient. Patience was good to me, up to a certain point.

"Two more weeks." he reminded me as I placed my own hands on top of his on my belly. We intertwined our fingers and watched as the sun was setting over the skyscrapers of New York. It looked beautiful to me, having the two of us on top of the world at that point and waiting for a third to join us. It was odd to think about: two agents having a child together and trying to make it seem normal.

"We need to talk about names." I reminded him, hearing Clint hum in agreement. We were going to put off names until the very end, thinking that it was going to come to us instead of just thinking about it. I thought about names, making it even more surreal that this was going to happen for real.

"Harper for a girl." I said aloud, having Clint look at me while I looked over my shoulder at him. He looked a bit surprised from my thought. I loved that name, it seemed so simple to me yet it was beautiful.

"My mother's name." I replied to him, seeing his smile widen as he kissed me lightly. I though it was perfect, since she will be a beautiful as my mother. But then it was quiet once more, having me think of names for a boy. Nothing really came to mind, since my father's name was too old fashioned for this baby.

"Ethan." He replied aloud, having me smile slightly as I said that name in my head over and over. It sounded like a handsome name, something that would fit with the both of us. I smiled widely, bringing one of Clint's hands to my mouth and kissing it lightly.

"What made you think of that name?" I asked him aloud.

"It was my brother's name." He replied back to me, making me a bit more happy that he was thinking about his brother. As we watched and saw the night sky coming over us, still wrapped in each other, I knew that the next two weeks were going to be nothing but patient. I wasn't patient at this moment in time. I wanted to see my baby, hold him or her in my arms and claim as my child. I knew Clint wanted the same thing.

Damn waiting.

* * *

**3 Years After New York**

"Jarvis, please put the defense systems on the screen." I said aloud to Jarvis as I typed in some more hacking codes into the main computer. I saw more numbers come up as Jarvis fed me through the systems that I requested. It was a early Monday afternoon in the winter time

"There you are. Is there anything else I can help you with?" I heard above me, knowing that it was Jarvis from his polite tone. I smiled slightly while I was still working.

"Only locate the whereabouts of Mr. Barton please." I replied back to him, going from screen to screen with my eyes. Looked from one set of numbers to another, I realized that we were on the right track. My fingers were flying away as I scanned some more, seeing that we were on the right track.

"Right away Mrs. Barton." he replied to me aloud. I was grateful the computer was polite to me, having me take a mental note to thank Tony.

"Thank you Jarvis." I thanked him as I finished my my own set of goals for the day: place the defense systems on Stark Tower up by 60% and for Helicarrier 30%. As soon as I was done with that I smiled, stretching out my back and cracking my knuckles in the process.

"When was the last time you were upgraded in defense systems Jarvis?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, hearing nothing for a few seconds.

"Precisely two weeks ago by Mr. Stark." he replied to me, having me smile as I taped in a few more numbers in the computer. I would rather get him the upgrade that would only be a few seconds than Tony do it that would last for about 10 minutes. He was sow un upgrades compared to me.

"There you go, newly upgraded." I replied to him aloud as I saw the new upgrades on the screen.

"Thank you Mrs. Barton." He said to me, making me place my hands on my hips.

"You're welcome Jarvis." I replied back to him in a light tone.

"I just received a notification coming from the nursery that nap time has ended." Jarvis informed me, having me smile from my spot and take out my ear communicator. Placing it on the desk I looked at my work one last time before turning my back and heading over to the portable crib that we had set up on the other side of the living room.

"I also was just notified that Mr. Barton is in the building and on his way to our floor." I heard above me as I reached down into the crib. I pulled out my 1 year old son and held him in my arms, feeling him snuggle into my embrace.

"Thank you Jarvis." I said aloud to him as I looked down at my son. My year old son had his father's blue eyes, very light and serious at times when he would play with his toys. But he inherited by auburn hair and a mixture of light brown thanks to Clint. I thought of him as beyond handsome, just handsome as his father if not even more. But that was coming from his mother. Ethan Patrick Barton was perfect in my eyes.

Both my eyes and Clint's.

He was a adventurous, a daredevil if you will. And I had no clue if he got that from Clint or myself. He was also serious, I call Clint on that trait. But he was also warm and loving, Clint accuses me of giving that to him. His hair medium length and thick, having me cut it every once in awhile at the rate it was growing in.

Giving birth was beyond madness for me. I thought I knew pain, but this made the stabbing of the knife a paper cut. I was never one to show pain, but this was terrible. I do remember cursing at Clint for having me feel this, but he stayed with me that whole time. Clint held my hand and helped me through the labor, never leaving my side and never letting my hand go from him. Those 13 hours were hell.

But at least he was with me in hell.

After Ethan was born, we moved into Clint's apartment and were off the grid with S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury gave us his blessing to do so, and also had us notified that if we waned to come back we could with no hesitation. I was glad he did that, since I would like to go back someday. It was too much of a adventure to miss out on. BUt Ethan was a new adventure for us both.

Even as an infant Ethan was easy to handle. He never fussed out of the ordinary, having it be easy for us to take care of him. The only thing we had to look out for, was when he would try and wiggle out of our bodies when he was big enough. Ethan was restless, like me. I had moments by just looking down at Ethan after feeding him, seeing him asleep and smiling widely at him. He changed everything for me, just like how Clint changed everything for me. Both of these boys were going to be the death of me.

Clint loved holding Ethan. He hated going to work some days as a private investigator. He got the job thanks to Fury and his resume, plus it was away from S.H.I.E.L.D. Clint would try to ditch work just to stay him with Ethan, but I told him we needed money. That was a lie, since we had more than enough. I needed him to be back out in the world and be sane for once in his life. Sometimes when he was out I would have Thor and Natasha come and visit me, holding Ethan one at a time and talking about old missions. They loved holding Ethan, especially Thor who thought of him as a small loaf of bread. I was glad I chose them as Godparents. It was a safe feeling knowing that Ethan's Godparents were a Demigod and a World renown Spy, in case anything were to happen to Clint and I.

Fat Chance.

I caught a few moments of Clint holding Ethan in his strong arms, making Ethan look so tiny. He would look down at our son, the being we both created, and have a smile that is rarely seen. It his smile of pure love, pure happiness and pure satisfaction with life. He gave me those smiles once when we were younger and much in love. Clint would feed him when I was too tired, rock him when I was looking and sometimes sing to him just to make me giggle in my spot. The doubts he had before, about being a horrid father, went out of the window in a flash when he would hold his son.

The Avengers would all take turns babysitting when Clint and I needed our alone time. Whether it was out to dinner or just walking around, we knew Ethan was in safe hands. Tony was reluctant at first, but once he saw Ethan smirk at him when Ethan was about to be 8 months old, he was smitten. He even asked Pepper if we they would have one, having Pepper smack him upside the head and making Ethan giggle. Bruce, on the other hand, was a natural with Ethan. He would sneak his glasses on Ethan and take a picture, sending it to me and making me laugh out loud in my date with Clint in a restaurant. Steve was very serious holding him, though he would tickle him and have me hear his giggle from the other side of the room. They were amazing with him, and that made me thankful that he had this kind of world to grow up in.

"Is it wise, Mrs. Barton, to be snooping in Tony's computers?" I heard behind me, seeing Clint walk through the doors with a big grin on his face. I smiled as him as I rearranged my hold on Ethan on my hip. Clint walked down the steps over to me.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him, Mr. Barton. Besides, Jarvis and I are keeping this secret between us." I replied to him as he approached me and gave me a quick kiss. I smiled through the kiss as I felt Ethan squirm in my hold, reaching for Clint with clenched and unclenched fists. Clint laughed he gently took him from my arms. Ethan giggled as he was held by Clint, trying to grab his glasses from his head. Clint took off his own glasses, giving them to Ethan and having me see Ethan look at them with curiosity.

"How was work?" I asked him aloud as he looked back over at me. I ruffled Clint's hair affectionately as he sighed.

"Typical Investigation work. Makes me miss the days of just shooting the guy rather than interrogating him." He said in a snort, making me laugh as I wrapped a arm around his middle.

"Now, does Tony know that you are here?" He asked me with a raised eyebrow as Ethan leaned his head on Clint's shoulder. I saw Clint rub his back gently and kiss his auburn hair,

"Pepper let me in, giving me permission to fix some of his upgrades." I replied back to him, seeing him grin at me.

"Why don't the three of us go out tomorrow." He asked me in a suggestion. I raised my eyebrow at him, wondering what he was thinking.

"And where would that be?" I asked in a light tone, seeing him only smile at me with one of those smiles that were rare.

"How about Italy, where we had our first date?" He asked me, making me smile and kiss him fully on the lips. There we were, the three of us. I never thought this would happen to me, but then again I never thought a whole lot of things to happen to me since I was in the French Bureau at 15. But now I had a new life, a new wonderful life that I would not trade for the world. This made me thankful that I was a genius after all, not seeing it as a burden or something hateful. Every bullet that was shot at me, every stab that I endured, and every nightmare that I had, it was all worth it. I was glad I went through it, because it made me a better person than who I was before. I was glad that I risked my neck everyday when I was with the Avengers, because it made me reevaluate my life and who I can let into it. To me, Clint was my greatest adventure and my greatest risk, giving me the best outcome. He gave me life, love, happiness, and a family to call my own. He took my fears away, he protected me from failure and death, and he gave me love in return.

I am Emily Tresta Barton

I am a Agent with S.H.I.E.L.D.

My husband is Clint Barton, a skilled Assassin

I am a Avenger

And a new adventure is just beginning.

**The End.**


End file.
